Carolyn Heckman, the Evangelical Environmental Network’s Associate Director of Pennsylvania Policy, released this statement--
“As evangelical Christians committed to defending life from all harms, we cannot turn a blind eye to toxic fossil fuel pollution that continues to make our air unsafe to breathe and water unsafe to drink.
"This past fall, the Governor’s and state policy makers’ decision to take Pennsylvania out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) paved the way to more Pennsylvanian children being exposed to harmful pollution and its increased risk of asthma, autism, ADHD, and other health complications and harms.
"Medical research is clear: fossil fuel pollution is a top environmental threat to the health of our children and other vulnerable Pennsylvanians.
"And while we worry about the physical health impacts of this decision, we are also concerned about the economic impacts to Pennsylvania households, as PJM has yet to offer adequate solutions to the energy rate increases that continue to burden homes statewide.
"We commend the Governor for his focus on transparency, local economic development, and the environmental and health impacts of data centers that are straining the energy grid, along with his continued commitment to capping and plugging abandoned wells.
"Nevertheless, our work must not stop here.
“We call on our leaders to continue to come together and work diligently to implement market-based programs and solutions, like updating our Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) goals through the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS), which will deliver clean air, clean water, and new energy and careers to Pennsylvania for generations.
“Our children’s health and future depend on it. The time to act is now.”
The Center for Coalfield Justice issued this statement-- "Working people drive Pennsylvania’s economy. Governor Shapiro’s 2026-27 budget includes some commitments to address the cost of living and improve economic conditions, but ultimately prioritizes corporate profits over working people, their families, and communities.
“While the budget includes some funding for public education, workforce development, and public transit, it does not provide working people with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive.
“Instead of simply funding much-needed relief for safe, affordable housing and school district upgrades, the proposed Critical Infrastructure Investments handcuff these benefits alongside even more subsidies to fossil fuel energy generation.
“While working families throughout PA struggle to pay rent and put food on the table, this budget provides more handouts to multibillion-dollar fracking and power companies and leaves families without a solid path to make ends meet.
“Budgets are moral documents, and this one lays the groundwork for extending Pennsylvania’s dependence on a harmful, extractive fossil fuel economy while jeopardizing the state’s most vulnerable residents.
“We’ve seen how these budgets play out under the Shapiro administration in the past: big promises on housing and affordability get undermined during negotiations while handouts for corporations go untouched,” said Sarah Martik, Executive Director for Center for Coalfield Justice. “It’s past time our leaders commit to policies that help working people without mixing in poison pills and propping up wealthy corporations on the side. ”
Governor Shapiro’s stated priorities on data centers and energy generation also raise concerns.
“The GRID standards would fast-track and subsidize data centers that commit only to the bare minimum demands on transparency and local benefits,” said Nicole Jordan, a Greene County resident. “Pennsylvania has already lost out on millions in revenue from facilities because of existing tax credits; we cannot afford to hand more cash to big corporations to reward them for things they should already be doing.”
Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania Executive Director Molly Parzen said-- "Governor Shapiro has laid out a vision to lower skyrocketing energy costs and invest in local environmental protections at a time when Washington is rolling back environmental policy.
“We applaud the Governor for renewing calls for critical investments in the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to help them continue to protect and cultivate our natural resources for all Pennsylvanians.
“At the same time, the Governor reiterated his support for the Solar for Schools program, his Lightning Plan to modernize our energy grid and boost clean electricity to lower rates, and for sustainable transit funding.
“And at a time of skyrocketing energy prices, the Governor laid out a set of principles designed to hold our utility companies and our dysfunctional grid operator, PJM, accountable.
“He also acknowledged the need to better manage the explosion of data centers in our Commonwealth.
“His proposed data center principles seek to require new data centers to bring more of their own energy to the grid to keep costs low for working families, while ensuring local workers are hired and host communities are protected with enforceable community benefit agreements and stepped-up environmental protections.
“However, these ideas will not benefit Pennsylvanians unless they are signed into law.
“For too long, most of these common-sense initiatives have languished in Harrisburg while working families pay the price.
“We need action, not more talk.
“Our elected officials must get clean energy and affordability solutions over the finish line this budget cycle to provide desperately needed relief to Pennsylvania’s families and local businesses – particularly as Donald Trump is jacking up energy prices and rolling back federal rules that keep our water clean and our air breathable.
“Pennsylvania must lead the counter-offensive on energy and the environment, yet we currently lack the tools to do so-- particularly after the state budget Governor Shapiro signed last year traded away the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, our most powerful tool to keep energy costs down.
“Governor Shapiro promised to ‘get stuff done’ for our Commonwealth. But for the working families struggling to pay their electric bills and facing increased pollution thanks to the anti-environment federal government, the time for waiting has passed.
“We can no longer afford the status quo of legislative gridlock.
“We need the Governor and the legislature to deliver the clean, affordable energy future our citizens deserve. Pennsylvanians will judge their leaders on their results — not their promises.”
PennFuture issued this statement on the proposed budget- "While Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget address aims to provide solutions, it simply does not meet the moment as we find ourselves failing to provide meaningful solutions to the energy affordability and climate crises.
“This new budget feels like a continuation of short-sited offerings that continue to miss the mark on climate and energy issues. Instead of delivering progress, the previous budget gave pro-fossil fuel legislators a win by removing us from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
“From this new budget, Pennsylvanians need a stronger, more urgent plan to cut utility bills, protect communities, and accelerate real climate action.
“We have concerns about the overall rapid growth of a new development moving into the Commonwealth, and we’re in agreement with the Governor that data centers and AI projects must not come at the expense of households, small businesses, or host communities.
“The Governor’s proposed GRID (Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development) standards are a start, but they must be paired with real protections that empower local communities to make decisions without the threat of costly legal battles.
“Any approach should require meaningful public participation with a requirement to act upon feedback, enforceable transparency, and clear local authority; while ensuring developers pay for the generation and grid upgrades their projects require, rather than shifting costs onto residents.
“On our power grid operator PJM Interconnection, the Governor is right that grid delays and market failures are driving higher costs.
“But the path to lowering bills cannot rely solely on faster queues. Specifically, it requires faster connection of clean renewable generation, which is the lowest cost and quickest energy resource to deploy.
“It also requires significant expansion of energy storage, transmission upgrades, and aggressive use of energy efficiency that reduces demand, lowers electricity bills, and protects customers from price volatility.
“Pennsylvania should use every available lever to push PJM toward timely interconnections and fair, affordable outcomes.
“Finally, while the Governor’s Lightning Plan acknowledges that energy affordability is a defining challenge, Pennsylvanians need more than a failed “all-of-the-above” approach that will only increase dependence on dirty, volatile, and unreliable fossil fuels.
“We need a plan aligned with climate science and public health, with clear, measurable commitments to cut climate pollution and deliver real bill relief, especially for low-income households that balances an energy portfolio that is currently over-reliant on unreliable, expensive gas.
“That means prioritizing energy efficiency, weatherization, and low-cost clean energy deployment at scale.
“We look forward to working with the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Administration to strengthen this proposal, so it truly lowers bills, protects communities, and meets this moment.”
POWER Interfaith had this to say about Gov. Shapiro's budget proposal--
Yesterday, Governor Shapiro laid out his vision for Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 state budget. POWER Interfaith appreciates the continued commitment to fully funding public education with an outlined commitment of $565M in adequacy funding.
Sustained investments in historically underfunded schools, special education, student mental-health supports, and school infrastructure are critical steps toward educational equity.
“Where we put our money shows who we believe matters,” said Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards, Executive Director of POWER Interfaith. “When the state invests in public schools that have been overlooked for generations, it’s an acknowledgment that every child’s future is worth investing in, no matter their zip code.”
POWER Interfaith is also encouraged to hear the governor lay out plans to lower energy prices for Pennsylvanians and to hold data centers and giant utility companies accountable for rising costs on the consumer while making billions of dollars a year.
Across the Commonwealth residents have raised concerns about data centers, particularly around rising energy costs, environmental impacts, and transparency.
Faith leaders and community members have been clear that economic development cannot come at the expense of working families or the health of our neighborhoods.
“We’re cautiously optimistic about the administration’s willingness to set clearer standards and safeguards for data centers and we welcome the Governor’s commitment to hold giant utility companies accountable for raking in huge profits while raising our utility bills and failing to do enough to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels,” says Sara Melton, POWER’s Managing Director of Organizing. “Communities deserve a real seat at the table when decisions affect their air, their water, and their monthly bills.”
Affordability remains a defining challenge for Pennsylvanians. From housing and utilities to child care and health care, too many families are stretched thin.
The budget outlined some welcomed initiatives to address this crisis such as investments in public transit, raising the minimum wage, caps on rental application fees, and interventions at the PUC for utility companies and energy providers.
However, lawmakers must do more than acknowledge rising costs - it must actively protect those most vulnerable to economic shocks, especially as federal budget cuts threaten programs that many households rely on to survive, and raise revenue by taxing large corporations and billionaires to fortify the services and programs our families rely on.
“As people of faith, we see budgets are moral documents,” Edwards adds. “At a time when the federal government is cutting critical funding for SNAP, healthcare, and other critical programs, Pennsylvania has a responsibility to step up, protect its people, and raise the revenue needed to invest in the social infrastructure that keeps our communities whole.”
POWER Interfaith urges the General Assembly to build on the progress outlined in today’s address by advancing a budget that centers affordability, safeguards our environment, and ensures dignity and stability for all Pennsylvanians.
The Better Path Coalition and No False Climate Solutions had this to say-- "The throngs of Pennsylvanians who are filling municipal meetings to standing-room-only capacity across the state are not doing it so the data center operators proposing projects in their communities provide their own energy or offer them community benefits agreements.
“The tone deaf Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) initiative Governor Shapiro announced today during his budget address also makes a vague requirement for the hiring of local workers and, most preposterously of all, calls on developers to commit to the highest standards of environmental protection.
“Pennsylvanians do not want to see their communities suffer the environmental, health, economic, and quality of life impacts that communities in so many other states are experiencing.
“They were never asked their opinions when data center deals were being hammered out behind closed doors. Now that their municipalities are being barraged by data center proposals, they are saying no.
“Although Shapiro refers to himself as an all-of-the-above energy governor, the data center boom he is promoting relies heavily on one energy source - natural gas.
“Whether data center operators power their centers with electricity from gas-fired power plants feeding the grid or plants they build themselves, the data center boom is simply the next generation of fracking at a time when the profound on-the-ground harms of drilling and fracking are irrefutable and the climate crisis is intensifying to the point of no return.
“But data centers’ environmental impacts are not limited to those posed by the natural gas that powers them.
“Data centers are responsible for noise pollution, water shortages, water contamination from the waste stream, and air pollution, among others, that have never been successfully managed in states already inundated with them.
“Companies may market their data centers as harmless, but we know there are environmental, climate, and human health impacts from them.
“Pennsylvanians know that data centers do not create many jobs for local workers. They also know that the Artificial Intelligence driving the demand for data centers will take away far more jobs than data centers claim to create.
“Shapiro boasted about the deal he struck with Amazon for at least two data centers in Pennsylvania.
“According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Amazon is the fifth largest employer in the state… for now.
“In the past four months, Amazon has announced 30,000 immediate job cuts and nearly 600,000 jobs it will replace with robots in the next few years.
“Community Benefit Agreements are the insult added to the injury being visited upon Pennsylvanians who have never been given the right of refusal.
“Every data center will result in unavoidable and irreversible environmental changes through the use of non-renewable resources and the permanent loss of farmland, vegetation, habitat, and natural hydrology.
“Although Shapiro did not review last year’s Lightning Plan in detail, he did refer to the siting reforms the public has strongly rejected.
“The RESET board would strip municipal governments of siting authority over the large-scale energy projects that would power data centers.
“We encourage Governor Shapiro to get something done that isn’t shit.”
Food And Water Watch said this-- "Today, Governor Josh Shapiro unveiled his 2026 budget pitch to lawmakers, highlighting data centers as one of his administration’s priorities, citing industry talking points on the sector’s unproven economic benefits.
“The governor only made brief mention of the well-established concerns regarding data centers’ impact on communities, utility bills, the climate and environment.
“This comes amidst widespread community opposition to data center proposals.
“According to FracTracker Alliance, developers have submitted proposals for 23 hyperscale data centers in Pennsylvania.
“In October, Food & Water Watch became the first national group to call for a data center moratorium. Over 250 organizations have since joined the call — including 17 from Pennsylvania.
Food & Water Watch Pennsylvania State Director Megan McDonough said-- “Naming affordability and data centers as priorities in the same breath is outlandishly paradoxical. The two cannot exist together, no matter how hard Shapiro tries to spin the benefits of Big Tech’s power grab.
“Make no mistake: the governor’s data center embrace will not help Pennsylvanians as Shapiro claims. If affordability is truly a priority for the governor and the legislature, data centers cannot be a part of the conversation.”
As the second largest fracked gas producing state and fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter in the nation, Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel industry has an outsized role in driving the worsening climate crisis-- data centers are projected to make things worse.
On Wednesday, the House Energy Committee will vote on House Bill 2151 — a bill backed by Shapiro and Amazon — that would provide a model data center ordinance intended to speed controversial data center development.
The Clean Power PA Coalition issued the following statement-- “Governor Shapiro presented a series of common-sense solutions to deal with rising energy bills, from accountability for data centers, utilities, and electric grid operator PJM, to his Lightning Plan to grow and diversify our energy production through more cheap, clean, renewable energy.
“Critically important in his address was his call for lawmakers to stop ignoring our energy challenges and get to work fixing them.
“We need strong leadership from the governor and the legislature immediately to stop skyrocketing utility bills, bring more cheap renewable energy online to help meet growing electricity needs, and create data center accountability standards that protect families and communities from the negative impacts of irresponsible data center growth. We urge all our lawmakers to get to work right away.”
President and CEO Andy Tubbs of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania (EAP), which represents the Commonwealth’s electric and natural gas distribution utilities, today issued the following statement--
"Pennsylvania’s electric distribution companies (EDCs) provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to nearly 9 million Pennsylvania families and businesses.
“Utilities remain deeply committed to ensuring that all customers, including the most vulnerable, have access to essential energy services.
“Our member companies invest nearly $600 million annually into customer assistance programs and energy efficiency initiatives.
“We have some fundamental disagreements with the governor, but we stand ready to work with his administration, legislative leaders and all stakeholders on comprehensive solutions that maintain reliability, support Pennsylvania jobs, attract economic development and result in reasonable rates for all customers.
“As we consider affordability solutions, it’s essential to understand how our energy system works. The majority of a customer’s bill is costs that utilities do not control, including approximately 50% coming from generation supply costs alone.
“Pennsylvania’s electric utilities do not generate energy; they deliver it.
“While a utility bill includes both generation and distribution charges, utilities are only paid for delivering energy-- not a cent more-- and are subject to extensive review and approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
“All generation costs charged by power plant owners are simply passed through to customers with no markup or profit for the utility.
“The recent PJM auction results paint a stark picture: Pennsylvania families and businesses now face costs exceeding $16 billion annually, more than seven times the $2.2 billion in costs just three years ago.
“Most concerning, the December auction for the 2027-28 delivery year failed to procure enough power to meet its reliability target for the first time in PJM history.
“This represents a massive wealth transfer from Pennsylvania customers to out-of-state generation owners.
“EAP supports a comprehensive effort to address energy affordability for Pennsylvania customers and to protect the economic development role EDCs play in Pennsylvania.
“Our plan includes: protecting residential customers from retail shopping abuses that cost them more than $400 million in 2025; creating pathways for new in-state generation to meet growing demand; reinstating critical consumer protections for residential customers who pay their bills on time; establishing a state LIHEAP supplement to help vulnerable customers; reforming net-metering policies to stop cost-shifting to other ratepayers; and reviewing decades-old policy mandates to ensure cost-effectiveness.”
Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) President Jim Welty issued the following statement in response to Governor Shapiro’s budget address-- "“Energy affordability and reliability are top priorities for Pennsylvania consumers, families, and small businesses.
“Thanks to safely produced Pennsylvania natural gas, consumers have realized significant savings, with nearly $17 billion saved just over the past two years alone.
[Note: -- Independent Fiscal Office Reports PA Electricity Prices Increased 46.1% From 2018 to 2025, More Than Other PJM States, Largely Due To Pennsylvania's Reliance On Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation [PaEN]
[-- Utility Dive: US EIA: Natural Gas, Electricity Prices Spiked Year Over Year In November: Natural Gas Up 88.5%, Electricity Rates Rose 20.3% In PA
[-- Bloomberg: US Natural Gas Prices Hit Three-Year High After Powerful Winter Storm Disrupts Production, Boosts Heating Demand
[-- Marcellus Drilling News: Winter Storm Fern Freeze-Off Leads To 10-12% Drop In Shale Gas Supply [PDF of Article]
[-- Marcellus Drilling News: Cove Point, MD, Elba Island, Georgia, Other US LNG Gas Export Facilities IMPORTED Natural Gas From Trinidad And Tobago Due To High Prices During Cold Weather [PDF of Article]
[-- You Need To Read This: Highlights Of Shale Gas, Conventional Oil & Gas Compliance Actions During 2025 [PaEN] ]
“Our diverse industry also supports nearly 123,000 of good-paying family-sustaining jobs across the Commonwealth, particularly in the building trades, while generating billions in tax revenues that fund schools, public safety, and essential community services.
“With such a focus on affordability, however, we are concerned with any policies that would increase costs for consumers.
“The PACER program [part of the Lightning Energy Plan], for example, would have cost Pennsylvania consumers an additional $1.6 billion last year if it was in place.
“Likewise, the current alternative energy portfolio mandate cost consumers over $700 million last year, and Governor Shapiro is proposing to nearly triple this mandate with his PRESS proposal [also part of Lightning Plan].
“Despite the fact that natural gas provides more than 60% of the electricity in Pennsylvania, the Governor’s Lightning Plan would reduce Pennsylvania’s share of electricity that can be supplied by natural gas to just 18%, sidelining the cleanest, most cost-effective energy resource at a time when consumers are already struggling with rising expenses.
“We urge the Governor and the General Assembly to advance policies that protect consumer interests by helping to build and deploy infrastructure, attract new baseload power generation, and encourage capital investment in the Commonwealth.
“Our members stand ready to work collaboratively to advance these policies in the coming months.”
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 - 10 More Conventional Abandoned Well Violations; Failure To Notify DEP Of Water Contamination; Casing/Cement Failure [PaEN]
-- Washington County Residents On Water Wells Not Aware A MarkWest Pipeline Drilling Project Lost 1.2 Million Gallons Of Drilling Fluid In Mount Pleasant & Robinson Townships [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies CNX Gas Company Motion To Throw Out Ullom Family Appeal Over Water Loss In Washington County; Scope Of Rebuttable Presumption Under Review [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - February 7 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Permit For Homer City Generation 5.8 Mile, 30-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline To Serve Proposed Data Center 4.5 GW Power Plant In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Columbia Gas Permit For Project To Protect 2 Major Natural Gas Pipelines From Impacts Of Longwall Coal Mining In West Finley Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 74 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In December, January; 471 In 2025 [PaEN]
-- Guest Comments: Jacoby & Cove Mountains In Loyalsock State Forest Will Be Degraded For Generations By PA General Energy's 'Saluda' Shale Gas Access Road, Staging Area Project In Lycoming County - By Barbara Jarmoska, Resident [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 56 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In February 7 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed Budget Includes Performance Standards For Data Centers Seeking State Tax Credits; Renewed Call For Lightening Energy Plan; New PUC Benchmarks For Utility Profits [PaEN]
-- Reactions To Gov. Shapiro's Proposed Budget From Citizen, Environmental, Energy, Industry, Utility Groups [PaEN]
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - February 9 [PaEN]
-- House Committee OKs Bill To Give PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads To Protect Ratepayers, Electric Grid [PaEN]
-- Capitolwire.com: Senate Committee Amends, Does Not Report Out Bill Requiring Data Centers To Bring Their Own Power, Respecting Local Decisions [PaEN]
-- House Passes Bills Authorizing Clean Manufacturing, Reduce Fees For Small Nuclear Reactors, Advances Solar Warehouse Bill [PaEN]
-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports PA Electricity Prices Increased 46.1% From 2018 to 2025, More Than Other PJM States, Largely Due To Pennsylvania's Reliance On Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Pose Big Challenge For PA's Energy Future - Dramatically Increasing Costs For Energy Consumers, And It's Not Getting Any Cheaper - By Tom Gilbert, Pennsylvania Environmental Council [PaEN]
-- Clean Energy Group, Partners Host Feb. 25 Webinar On The High Cost Of A.I. - How Data Centers Are Reshaping Pennsylvania's Energy Landscape [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Cold Weather Alert For Feb. 7 to 9 Across Its Entire Footprint [PaEN]
[Posted: February 4, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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