HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — Last June, Gov. Josh Shapiro stood in Berwick and described a new economic horizon for Pennsylvania: Amazon’s plan to invest at least $20 billion in cloud-computing and artificial-intelligence campuses across the Commonwealth.

“Pennsylvania is competing again — and I’m proud to announce that, with Amazon’s commitment of at least $20 billion to build new state-of-the-art data center campuses across our Commonwealth, we have secured the largest private-sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said at the time.

Trump’s Iran struggle comes through on campaign stump

The leftist ‘Omnicause’ lies to us every day

A century on, San Rocco tradition endures

Pennsylvania was “all in on AI,” he added, while casting the state as a major national hub for artificial intelligence and next-generation technology.

Shapiro also pointed to Pennsylvania’s position as a major energy-producing state and a leading net electricity exporter. These assets, he argued, could support the power-intensive computing facilities behind AI and cloud services.

DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR IS HEATING UP. BYRON YORK SAYS SOCIALISTS ARE WINNING

Amazon said its investment would create at least 1,250 permanent, high-paying technology jobs, along with thousands of construction and supply-chain jobs.

The announcement carried a larger promise. Pennsylvania intended to compete — for construction work, permanent jobs, local tax base, and a stake in an economy increasingly built around data.

The Commonwealth had already created a mechanism to help make that pitch. Shapiro’s PA Permit Fast Track Program, launched in late 2024, was intended to coordinate and speed state reviews for major infrastructure and economic-development projects.

This week, however, the governor reversed course and redefined the terms for data-center development.

Shapiro signed Executive Order 2026-05, immediately removing data-center projects from the PA Permit Fast Track Program and making........

© Washington Examiner