PA Republican Lawmakers Rush To Introduce Bills To Give New Tax Breaks, Waive Regulations, Environmental Standards For A.I. Data Centers Already Flocking Into Pennsylvania And Locking Up PA Power

Republican lawmakers in the Senate and House are rushing to introduce legislation to give new tax breaks, waive regulations and environmental standards for A.I. data centers that don’t need any incentive to locate in Pennsylvania, judging from the $90 billion in project announcements last week..

The legislation includes Senate Bill 939 (Rothman-R-Cumberland) making the whole state an “opportunity zone” for A.I. data centers to limit local land use regulation of centers and create a “Regulatory Sandbox” Program that allows the waiving of any state law or regulation of data centers from Senate Bill 245 [Read more here].

Rep. Stephenie Scialabba (R-Butler) announced her intent to introduce the Keystone A.I. Innovation Package of bills to give new tax breaks to data center developers and identify regulatory barriers to building data centers.

Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington) and Rep. Eric Nelson (R-Westmoreland) announced plans to introduce legislation to accelerate DEP and other permits for data centers and dedicated power plants that are “behind the meter” that meet or exceed federal air pollution and other standards.

The guarantee that standards are exceeded would only be the stamp of an engineer, with A.I. assistance to generate plans and air emissions numbers, submitted with “no need to wait for a multi-year DEP review,” according to the bill sponsors.

[Note: These are the same engineers that submit often incomplete and inaccurate environmental permit applications now.]

“This legislation directs the PA Department of Environmental Protection to generate approved earthwork, stormwater and air permits to developers who commit to improved environmental outcomes.”

[Note: EPA has already announced the waiving or delay of clean air standards for coal and natural gas power plants, including more this past week, so there is no comfort in legislation referring to federal standards in the current race to reduce protections.]

Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Allegheny) introduced House Bill 1625 establishing a Keystone Artificial Intelligence Authority to streamline permitting for data centers.

$90 Billion In Projects For PA

The PA Energy and A.I. Summit on July 15 saw over $90 billion in data center and related energy infrastructure announced in the state.  Read more here.

Before that, there were at least seven major data center announcements by Amazon, Homer City Redevelopment, Liberty Energy, TECfusions, Constellation Energy, Rich Pike LLC and KDI Wyalusing Power LLC in the last few months highlight A.I. demand in Pennsylvania.  Read more here.

There were also multiple announcements of acquisitions of Pennsylvania power and power plants to be dedicated to serving data centers taking them off the grid to provide power to “ordinary people.”  Read more here.

The latest was an announcement July 17 by Talen Energy that it would by the 1,058 MW Moxie Freedom natural gas-fired power plant in Luzerne County.  Read more here.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 12 to 18 - Uncontrolled Shale Gas Wastewater Release For 34 Hours; Abandoned Conventional Wells Top 300; 107 New Brownfield Sites  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP: Shale Gas Well Control Problem Caused Uncontrolled Release Of Wastewater For Over 34 Hours At Repsol’s Broadleaf Holdings Well Pad In Troy Twp., Bradford County  [PaEN] 

     -- Courier Times: Bucks County Residents, Sen. Santarsiero Say DEP Isn’t Doing Enough To Make Energy Transfer/Sunoco Define The Extent Of Petroleum Pipeline Leak And Clean It Up  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 19 [PaEN]

     -- DEP Invites Comments On 4 Water Quality Permits For Texas Eastern Appalachia To Market 3 Natural Gas Pipeline Upgrade Project In Adams And York Counties  [PaEN]

     -- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Sets July 31 Hearing On Requests To Withdraw Millions Of Gallons Of Water Per Day, Including 11 For Shale Gas Development, 2 Gas Power Plants  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 103 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 19 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- List Of More Than $90 Billion In Energy, A.I. Data Center Investments, Commitments Or Plans Announced At The PA Energy & Innovation Summit [PaEN] 

-- NewsClips - PA Energy & A.I. Summit Pittsburgh July 15, 2025

-- PA Republican Lawmakers Rush To Introduce Bills To Give New Tax Breaks, Waive Regulations, Environmental Standards For A.I. Data Centers Already Flocking Into Pennsylvania And Locking Up PA Power  [PaEN] 

-- Kleinman Center For Energy Policy: What Wasn’t Discussed At Pennsylvania’s Energy & A.I. Summit - By John Quigley, Senior Fellow

-- Utility Dive: Bipartisan Group Of 9 Governors, Including Gov. Shapiro, Say PJM Interconnection Facing ‘Unprecedented Crisis Of Confidence’ And Want A Hand In Filling 2 Vacant Board Seats  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental Health Project Releases Compounds Of Concern Online Tool To Help Frontline Residents Better Understand Health Symptoms Related To Chemicals In Industrial Pollution, Released By Oil & Gas Facilities  [PaEN]

-- Rise Of The Machines:  Senate, House Members Express Concern That Demand For Power To Run Computers Is Impacting The Price And Availability Of Electricity For ‘Ordinary People’  [5.12.25] 

-- US Dept. Of Energy Releases Report On Electric Grid Reliability, Security Saying Generation Growth Must Match Needs Of A.I. Data Centers;  But What About ‘Ordinary People’?   [7.8.25] 

-- PJM Interconnection Opens Next Electric Capacity Auction Bidding Window Of July 9 to 15 For 2026-27 Electric Delivery; Hold Your Breath!  [7.9.25]

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Maximum Generation Alert For July 15; Natural Gas Accounted For Most Generation Outages In June Generation Alert  [PaEN]  

-- PJM Interconnection Extends Maximum Generation Alert To July 16; Natural Gas Accounted For Most Generation Outages In June Generation Alert [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For July 17 In Its Mid-Atlantic, Southern Regions, Including Parts Of PA  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental Advocates Oppose Gov. Shapiro’s Attendance At Sen. McCormick's Energy, A.I. Summit Today In Pittsburgh  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups Rallying To Protect Delaware River Watershed From Shale Gas Fracking  [PaEN] 

-- Dept. Of Insurance/DEP Highlight 30 Years Of Underground Petroleum Products Storage Tank Insurance Fund Work; Paid Over $1.3 Billion To Clean Up Tank Leaks  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Stops In Potter County To Highlight Investment In Key Gas Station Near Northcentral Regional ATV Trail To Build Outdoor Recreation Economy  [Owner Failed To Comply With Storage Tank Regulations] 

-- EPA Is 'Clearing The Regulatory Path For America To Dominate The Global A.I. Revolution'  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Energy And Innovation Summit Is A Great Opportunity For Pittsburgh, But People Must Come First  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: $3.47 Million In Alternative Fuel Vehicle Grants Announced To Lower Costs, Improve Air Quality; Deadline For New Applications Oct. 10  [PaEN]

[Posted: July 17, 2025]  PA Environment Digest