The Pennsylvania House deserves credit for being proactive in dealing with the building of data centers in the state.

Last week, the house approved a bill to require future data centers to pay for any increased costs tied to their huge demands for energy.

While data centers have existed for as long as digital storage, they have evolved as the nation uses more and more data. Modern data centers now house thousands of computer servers connected to communication networks.

Today’s data centers put strain on the environment and infrastructure, including through massive energy consumption for power and water consumption for cooling. Often the centers use water from the same municipal or regional water sources that supply drinking water to their customers.

Data centers can stress local power grids, drive up utility rates for the centers’ neighbors and create noise pollution, and even air pollution in incidences when the centers’ backup diesel generators are used.

The recently passed state House bill attempts to head off potential problems by ordering that future data centers commit to ensuring a percentage of their energy comes from a renewable energy source and that the companies running them contribute funds toward Pennsylvania’s low-income energy assistance programs.

The bill couldn’t have come too soon.

According to Penn State Extension, information from private firms indicates, as of October 2025, the state has between 57 and 97 of these data centers. According to company websites, published news and news releases, there are 21 “hyperscale” data centers, which are over 500,000 square feet in size and contain at least 5,000 servers, in planning stages for the state.

Of course, the bill has its detractors. The Data Center Coalition which represents major data center developers including Google, Amazon and Microsoft opposes the legislation, claiming it unfairly singles out data centers and would deter building them in the state.

While the data center bill faces an uncertain future in the state Senate, most state lawmakers agree regulating data centers will be a top issue for the General Assembly moving forward.

That’s an encouraging sign. The insatiable demand for data should not outweigh the potential problems the centers could cause.

— EF