As Pennsylvania experiences an unprecedented surge in data center proposals, our local zoning boards and planning commissions are dedicating significant amounts of time, taxpayer dollars, and staffing resources to review these large, complex projects. However, many of these applications are speculative and will never actually materialize. Developers frequently lock down municipal land use and zoning approvals before making any commitments to build or secure their electrical grid connections, needlessly burdening municipal governments and alarming residents. This speculative rush also inflates load forecasts and undermines resource planning efforts within our regional transmission organization (PJM Interconnection), threatening grid reliability.
 
To address this issue, we will soon introduce legislation requiring any data center applicant seeking zoning or land-use approval to demonstrate that they have submitted an interconnection application with the applicable electric utility provider and paid all mandatory fees and costs associated with the application.
 
By linking local zoning reviews to concrete proof of an active pursuit of utility interconnection, we can ensure that municipalities only spend time and resources reviewing serious, viable projects that have a legitimate path to construction. This simple requirement filters out speculative data center proposals, saves time for local elected officials and planning boards, and safeguards community resources.
 
We hope that you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.