Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development
Josh Shapiro’s executive action requires local approvals for state permits and removes projects from fast-track programmes
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Gov. Josh Shapiro in Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday, July 26, 2026.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Photograph: Inquirer (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on 18 August 2026 requiring local approvals for state permits for data center projects, effectively blocking many developments.
- The order removes data centers from Pennsylvania’s fast-track permitting programme and mandates projects bring their own electricity generation.
- Projects must sign legally binding agreements on transparency, environmental standards, and community benefits to proceed.
- No right-rated outlet carried the story, leaving the policy shift unreported on that side of the spectrum.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
65/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
25/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on 18 August 2026 that restricts data center development in the state. The order requires local approvals for state permits, which may block many projects from moving forward. It also removes data centers from the state’s fast-track permitting programme, including those planned by Amazon in Bucks and Luzerne Counties.
The order mandates that data center projects bring their own electricity generation and cover all costs associated with increased energy usage. Projects must sign legally binding agreements on transparency, environmental standards, and community benefits, including water conservation and public notification before local approvals. The order also prohibits state agencies from signing non-disclosure agreements related to data centre projects.
Shapiro’s office said the order applies to more than 100 speculative projects across Pennsylvania, though only six are under construction and ten have received at least one state-level permit. The order follows failed attempts to pass similar measures through the state’s General Assembly, which is politically divided.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran the story at all. None of the digests from left-rated outlets mentioned the financial impact of the order, including the removal of a sales-tax exemption for data center projects. The Inquirer’s full report was the only one to note that developers who do not agree to the order’s requirements will have their permit applications held in limbo by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 18 Aug 2026, 19:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The four left-rated reports led on Shapiro’s reversal of his earlier support for data center development. The Inquirer’s full report quoted Shapiro saying the order would put "the strictest guardrails in the nation" in place to stop "predatory developers and these bad proposals from infecting our commonwealth." The report also highlighted the order’s focus on Pennsylvania’s constitutional rights to clean air and pure water, which it said had been a focus of resident opposition.
- The Inquirer reported that Shapiro’s order removes Amazon’s projects from the fast-track permitting programme and requires community-benefit agreements, including promises to hire and train local employees. The NRDC digest noted the order’s requirement that projects bring their own power, including clean energy, to qualify for faster state permits. The Washington Post and NBC Philadelphia digests both mentioned the bipartisan political pressure to slow data center development.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated digest from Political Wire led on Shapiro’s reversal of past policies and the introduction of "more rigorous reviews" of data center projects. The digest quoted the Washington Post’s description of the projects as having "angered residents throughout the state." It did not mention the specific requirements of the order, such as local approvals or electricity generation mandates.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro set to order new limits on data center development (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The Washington Post — is The Washington Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- To Manage Data Center Challenges, Governor Shapiro Signs Executive Order on “GRID” Principles (opens NRDC in a new tab)
- Gov. Josh Shapiro expected to sign executive order restricting data center development in Pennsylvania (opens Inquirer in a new tab)
- Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro to sign executive order on data centers, source says (opens NBC Philadelphia in a new tab)
NBC Philadelphia — is NBC Philadelphia biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2- Gov. Josh Shapiro Signs Executive Order on PA Data Centers - Pittsburgh Business Times (opens The Business Journals in a new tab)
The Business Journals — is The Business Journals biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Josh Shapiro Orders New Limits On Data Centers (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development biased?
- Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Pennsylvania governor signs order restricting data center development?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What does Pennsylvania’s executive order on data centers require?
- The order requires local approvals for state permits, removes data centers from fast-track permitting, and mandates projects bring their own electricity generation. It also requires legally binding agreements on transparency, environmental standards, and community benefits, including water conservation and public notification before local approvals.
- Why did Josh Shapiro sign the executive order on data centers?
- Shapiro signed the order after failing to pass similar measures through Pennsylvania’s politically divided General Assembly. The order follows bipartisan opposition to data center projects over their environmental and energy impacts, as well as pressure from anti-data center activists.
- Which outlets reported on Pennsylvania’s data center order?
- The story was reported by left-rated outlets including the Inquirer, Washington Post, NRDC, and NBC Philadelphia, and by the centre-rated Political Wire. No right-rated outlet carried the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
