Josh Shapiro Says “Hell No” to Data Centers — The Developer Responds

**Michael Smerconish** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:37)
And join Michael Smerconish right here, in the middle.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:40)
This is The Smerconish Podcast for Independent Minds.

**Michael Smerconish** (0:44)
I'm looking at a headline from WHYY, which is the PBS affiliate in these parts. And it says this, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro signs wide ranging executive order reining in data center development. The first few graphs of the story are as follows. Governor Shapiro signed an executive order dramatically shifting his stance on data center development in Pennsylvania, calling out quote unquote predatory data center developers who are running rough shot over local communities. Further along in the story, it says while not naming him directly, Shapiro had strong words for the Montgomery County developer Brian O'Neill, who local officials have accused of bullying behavior. Here's what Governor Shapiro said in part at this press conference. Watch.

**Josh Shapiro** (1:31)
We're also seeing it where my family is from in Montgomery County, where one developer is trying to bully his way into forcing data center projects through local opposition from the community and opposition from local elected officials. Instead of actually respecting those residents, of listening to them, of understanding their concerns and trying to work with them, the developer instead is trying to sue his way into building those data centers. And in its place, he is creating a whole lot of chaos, and he's stoking a lot of fear and angst amongst the community, even though he has no realistic path to getting power to any of these sites anytime soon.
Here's something else he has no realistic path of getting, and that is my support. I'm a hell no on that project. I'm a hell no on many other projects across Pennsylvania, and they will not happen on my watch.

**Michael Smerconish** (2:37)
I don't know why he didn't just name you. Brian O'Neill, welcome into the studio. I thought, let's give the developer the opportunity to explain from your perspective in a national lens, what's this all about?

**Brian O'Neill** (2:48)
So first, we have to put it in context. We are going through a major industrial revolution today, and we've had many in this country. I was researching the 1900s, early 1900s, when electricity was introduced. At that time, Thomas Edison spread their form of social media against George Westinghouse. The competition was DCAC.
The automobile was fought, and individual owners, the Dodge brothers, Ford family, foreign automobile companies spread negative information about each other to try and get a leg up.
Today, we have the most unique opportunity, I think, in the century, to have an amazing industrial revolution in the United States. I was reading last night about the Forge Program, introduced by one of our state senators in Pennsylvania, where they're trying to bring back steel.
By my calculation, the largest consumer of steel over the next 10 years will be data centers. They need it for structural steel, they need it for cabinets, they need it for energy equipment, they need it for supports out in the yard. And they need a lot of it, and the steel industry can't keep up with it.
During these revolutions, people are always afraid of the future, and they're legitimate fears. And we live in the United States, and everybody has a say. For example, the governor can call me a bully. I don't believe it's true, and I'll give you some facts around that. And I am an admirer of his, and I've been a big supporter of his, and I cooperated with him and his senior staff in multiple meetings developing his grid standards with him, and I've adopted every one of those grid standards. But we live in America. If the governor gets up and decides he wants to call Brian O'Neill a bully in the morning, he has that right, whether he's a governor or a neighbor. We have neighbors that are coming to meetings and they're passionate. They have that right.
What we need to do is listen and respond, because we are trying to build into the new future of the world and the United States, and we do that. And it's probably the thing we don't get enough credit for. I'll just give you an example. Two years ago, when the grid program was being developed, I worked very, very closely with Ben Kershner, who's a senior member of the governor's staff. The key points were invest in local jobs, schools, facilities and infrastructure. Bring your own power, protect the environment, engage with community. We went to Upper Merion Township, for example, and we said before we build our first data center, we'd like you to give us a letter in writing or not, saying that we can build those data centers because we have customers and we don't want to waste their time. And if you're not interested in that business or you have a different point of view, we'd like to know about that. We just want to know in writing so we have complete clarity. They issued us a letter. The letter had illustrations of buildings, sites, etc. And the letter was very clear.