Cotney Discusses Impact of Pennsylvania's New Data Center Regulations on Construction Industry

Trent Cotney, Partner and Construction Team Leader at Adams & Reese, joined Construction Dive’s Sebastian Obando to discuss what Pennsylvania's new data center regulations mean for the construction industry. The article examines Gov. Josh Shapiro's executive order, which incorporates the Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) requirements into the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's review of data center proposals.

Cotney explained that Pennsylvania's action reflects a broader national shift. "The larger trend is that states are moving away from simply asking how they can attract data centers and are increasingly asking who pays for the infrastructure," he told Construction Dive. "For developers and contractors, data center construction is becoming as much an energy, regulatory and community-relations issue as it is a traditional construction issue."

On the order's potential impact, Cotney noted that while the new requirements will add hurdles, they stop short of halting development entirely. "I expect the order to slow some projects, particularly at the front end, but I do not view it as a ban on data center construction," he said.

Cotney outlined that the order effectively establishes two permitting paths for large data center construction projects in Pennsylvania. By making a binding commitment to the GRID requirements, developers can take advantage of rolling DEP review and expedited permitting. Developers who choose not to commit can still move forward but must first secure local approvals outside the streamlined review process.

Cotney also emphasized that developers will need to adapt their timelines: "In practical terms, developers will need to address power, water, environmental permitting and community concerns much earlier in the development process," he said. Regarding which projects stand to be most impacted, Cotney observed that developers with an established user base and secured financing should generally be able to adapt, whereas speculative projects are likely to face greater challenges. "In that sense, the order may act as a filter," he told Construction Dive. "It raises the cost and complexity of development, but it should not prevent well-capitalized and well-planned projects from moving forward."

Cotney further explained that Pennsylvania's new DEP process only applies to permit or authorization applications filed after Aug. 18. It does not automatically revoke existing permits or require all pending projects to begin anew, a distinction that is particularly significant for data center campus projects, which developers generally construct in phases.

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