As anyone who has been subjected to a campaign advertisement in recent weeks knows, data centers are a hot topic.
Last month, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order regulating the development of the facilities, and Mayor Cherelle Parker issued her own directive Sept. 16.
The six-page document establishes a task force to “gather information, engage relevant stakeholders, and formulate recommendations.”
Her order instructs the committee to produce a report no later than June 2027 addressing the environmental impacts, economic considerations and proposed adjustments to municipal laws, among other topics.
“We need to understand who could benefit from this, who could carry the burden and, if they were to be built, what additional safeguards should Philadelphia require to ensure that we’re doing everything in our power to protect our people and to protect our city,” Parker said in video posted to social media announcing the executive action.
The directive says the task force should work alongside state and federal environmental agencies to implement the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development, or GRID, standards, a set of requirements outlined by Shapiro in his order. The standards focus on energy affordability, public transparency, workforce development and pollution controls.
It does not include a data center moratorium, to the dismay of a coalition of progressive groups and environmental organizations called “No Data Centers in Philly.” The group was launched earlier this month to pressure City Council to pass a temporary ban.
“Big Tech could build a data center in our city tomorrow,” the coalition said in a statement. “Without a moratorium, a task force does nothing to protect us now and takes time that we don’t have.”
Parker has stressed that her order does not authorize the construction of any data centers.
It will be co-led by the city’s Office of Sustainability and Office of Clean and Green.
Representatives will also come from the Department of Planning and Development, Commerce Department, Philadelphia Water Department, Office of Information Technology, Department of Public Health, Department of Licenses and Inspections and the Council President’s office, according to the text of the order.
The task force should behave transparently and provide opportunities for public input, the directive states.
Yes. Fewer than 10 are currently operating within city limits, according to a July presentation from the Parker administration to the City Planning Commission.
However, each of the existing facilities is a fraction of the size of the “hyperscale” centers that have generated controversy in recent months. Hyperscale buildings are typically over 100,000 square feet and are used by technology giants such as Amazon and Google.
Municipal officials told the Planning Commission that they were only able to identify two parcels of land that could be suitable for the largest of data centers, based on acreage and current zoning. One of the properties is city-owned land adjacent to the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, and the other is the Bellwether District, the former home of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery near Grays Ferry.
MORE: Data center projects in Pennsylvania face stronger local scrutiny after Shapiro’s executive order
