Pennsylvania

NorthPoint

2026-09-29 07:19:48

NorthPoint’s $10,000-per-household offer fails to win over Pennsylvania township residents

NorthPoint Development has offered a direct cash payment of $10,000 to each of roughly 4,500 households in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, as it tries to advance its proposed Project Hazelnut data center campus. The company’s revised community benefits package, announced on June 24, totals $165 million, including $45 million for residents, $15 million for education and youth programs, and $105 million for the township over 15 years. Even so, interviews cited by The Wall Street Journal show many locals remain opposed, with some calling the payments a bribe rather than a benefit. The proposed campus would cover about 1,300 acres near Interstate 81 and include as many as 15 buildings plus a substation. The offer also comes after a series of setbacks. Hazle Township supervisors voted 3-0 in November 2025 to reject the land development application after more than 200 residents voiced opposition. A county court upheld that rejection in May 2026, and the case remains on appeal. On June 8, supervisors also approved a 180-day moratorium on data centers. Residents interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and Inside Climate News cited concerns over noise, property values, water use, power costs, and the area’s long history of environmental damage.

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Pennsylvania

2026-08-18 22:56:04

Pennsylvania Tightens Rules for AI Data Centers, Orders Grid Cost Accountability

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on Tuesday signed Executive Order 2026-05, setting new restrictions for large AI data centers and tying streamlined state review to a stricter set of environmental, energy, workforce, community, and local approval requirements. The order applies to facilities with peak electricity demand above 25 megawatts and is aimed in part at making developers bear some of the costs their projects impose on the state’s electrical grid. The move also removes data centers from Pennsylvania’s Permit Fast Track Program and bars state agencies from signing non-disclosure agreements connected to data center projects. The state will publish a public map of proposed facilities and require operating data centers to file annual reports on energy and water consumption starting in July 2027. Shapiro said the state would not allow developers to raise utility bills, ignore clean air and water protections, or pressure communities into accepting projects they oppose. The order also tells Pennsylvania’s Special Counsel for Energy Affordability to pursue utility rules that would require data centers to cover certain grid costs and face curtailment first in some emergencies unless they secure enough power to meet demand. The action comes as resistance to AI data centers grows across the U.S., with local communities pushing back over power use and environmental strain.

1080

Pennsylvania

2026-07-27 20:23:21

Pennsylvania bill would bar gambling companies from making markets on prediction platforms

Bipartisan lawmakers in Pennsylvania have introduced House Bill 2711, a proposal that would prohibit sports betting operators and other gambling businesses from serving as liquidity providers or market makers on prediction platforms. The measure was introduced on July 22 by state Representative Tarik Khan and has been referred to the House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee. The bill would also block prediction platforms from entering contracts with, or sharing revenue with, companies that are normally engaged in gambling activities. Its scope extends to parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures, employees, and entities acting for another company’s financial benefit. The proposal comes as DraftKings and Flutter have both moved into market-making activity, with DraftKings recently launching the DKeX exchange after acquiring CFTC-registered company Railbird Technologies. HB 2711 would set a minimum participation age of 21 and require platforms to exclude self-excluded users, company employees, settlement-source employees, and people with insider information. It also calls for commercially reasonable safeguards against fraud, manipulation, and misuse of material nonpublic information. A separate companion bill, HB 2497, would create a licensing requirement and impose a combined 22% tax on prediction betting platform revenue. Neither measure has yet received a committee vote or hearing.

1880

Pennsylvania

2026-07-22 19:25:14

Pennsylvania Tightens AI Data Center Rules, Making Certification a Gateway to Incentives

Pennsylvania has introduced new standards for large data center projects, requiring certification before developers can access state incentives, fast-track permits, or certain tax benefits.

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