As local tech groups predict that Pennsylvania will outpace its region for data-center growth in the next 10 years, another organization warned that some legislative proposals in play this session would weaken municipalities’ ability to say no. 

“Local authority remains one of the few meaningful tools communities have to push back against large-scale data center and AI development,” Data & Society, a nonprofit that studies the social implications of data, automation and AI, said in a new policy brief. “State government should support, not override, local decision-making, especially with infrastructural decisions as consequential as this.” 

It named several bills in the Pennsylvania legislature that it said would reduce local authority over siting decisions for major industrial facilities, centralizing that power within the state.

The bills include HB 502, a Democrat-led measure that’s part of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s “Lightning Plan” to speed the permitting of energy projects. The bill would set up a statewide board to make decisions on whether to approve large-scale energy projects, which data centers will need. 

Among the other bills the group flagged are two Republican-led measures: SB 939, which would create a standardized “sandbox” to write statewide regulation for the industry, and SB 991, which would provide faster permits for data-center developers who commit to meet or exceed federal environmental standards.  

Pennsylvania communities are “vastly different,” Data & Society said in a statement. “This group of bills erases that diversity and assumes that the same solution will work for all.”

The bills remain in committee.

Meanwhile, an industry report released in late March by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies projected Pennsylvania will see data-center capacity growth of more than 4,000 percent in the next decade. The report, written by Mangum Economics, says that growth will outpace any other place on the regional electric grid PJM Interconnection, which serves 12 other states and Washington, D.C.

Neither Mangum Economics nor the Data Center Coalition, an industry group, responded to requests for comment.

The report said Pennsylvania is especially attractive to data-center developers because it is courting data centers and has major attractions for the electricity-hungry industry. The state is the biggest exporter of electricity in the nation’s largest electric grid. And it’s the second-largest producer of natural gas, a major way that developers plan to power the new hyperscale complexes.

The state also has manufacturing that can supply the new infrastructure needed by the AI industry, the report said.

“While some states excel in hosting data centers, others in energy production, and others in advanced manufacturing, Pennsylvania is on track to uniquely possess all three advantages at scale,” said the report.

It predicted that by 2036, the data center industry will support 19,400 jobs in manufacturing, energy and other sectors. The capacity of new data centers—the maximum amount of electricity they need—is expected to exceed 7,196 megawatts by 2036, up from 186 megawatts now. 

More than 50 data centers are currently planned or under construction in Pennsylvania, according to Data Center Proposal Tracker, a website that monitors planned or actual data center construction throughout the U.S. 

Environmentalists say the expected surge in data center construction will worsen climate change by stimulating the production of natural gas. There’s also growing bipartisan concern about the impact on local water supplies and residential electric bills, which have already risen in anticipation of big new data center demand.

Some communities are pushing back. In February, for instance, commissioners of Montour County in central Pennsylvania rejected a plan by Talen Energy and Amazon to rezone land to build a data center.

Quentin Good, an analyst at Frontier Group, which does research for environmental groups including PennEnvironment, said the industry hasn’t yet provided evidence that there will be enough demand to justify all the data centers in the works. There is a danger of over-investing, especially in additional energy infrastructure, he said.

“That’s going to cost a lot of money,” he said. “But we might not even need it all.”

Good said the prediction of 4,000 percent growth in Pennsylvania’s data center capacity ignores state or local regulation that could have a significant effect. “The report doesn’t consider any of those competing factors,” he said.

In the legislature, state Sen. Katie Muth said she will introduce a bill that would place a three-year moratorium on data center development to give local governments time to evaluate its impacts on their communities.

Muth, a Democrat from the Philadelphia suburbs, said she didn’t expect any co-sponsors before the bill was published but now has four, including two Republicans. She said the unexpected support is probably because some members are hearing complaints from their constituents about the impact on their electric bills.

“People are rightfully upset about that,” she said. “I think that might be the reason why this has moved—public outrage.”

KINGSTON, R.I.—April 16, 2026—Marc Randolph, co-founder and first CEO of streaming giant Netflix; Daniel L. Harple Jr., chair and CEO of Context Labs; and Katherine Angell Brewster, CEO of the Jonnycake Center for Hope in South Kingstown, will be awarded honorary degrees by the University of Rhode Island next month.

Each honoree will be recognized for their considerable professional and personal achievements during commencement ceremonies, May 15-17, at the Thomas M. Ryan Center on the Kingston Campus. Randolph will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws and serve as keynote speaker during commencement ceremonies for URI’s College of Business on Friday, May 15, at 4 p.m. Harple will receive an honorary Doctor of Science during commencement ceremonies for the College of Engineering on Saturday, May 16, at 5 p.m. Brewster will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during ceremonies for URI’s Feinstein College of Education on Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m.

“Each of this year’s honorary degree recipients has made a profound and lasting impact on the communities they serve,” said URI President Marc Parlange. “Through their groundbreaking work in technology, business, AI, mentorship, and social welfare, they have continually expanded the horizons of what is possible—always guided by a commitment to leave the world and their communities better than they found them. These are the values we strive to cultivate in our students every day, and I am honored to recognize their extraordinary achievements during our commencement celebrations next month.”

“It is a privilege to welcome this year’s honorary degree recipients, who have demonstrated such dedication to their work, their values, and their communities,” said Barbara Wolfe, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “Their impact serves as a powerful example to our students of what they too can achieve, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements at this year’s commencement ceremonies.” 

Marc Randolph

Randolph is best known as the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has built a reputation as a serial entrepreneur, founding or co-founding more than half a dozen successful startups. He has also mentored countless early-stage entrepreneurs and invested in a wide range of successful technology ventures.

Most recently, Randolph co-founded Looker Data Sciences, which was acquired by Google in 2019 for $2.6 billion. He currently serves on the board of the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming; the Truckee Donner Land Trust; and Cheeze Technologies.

Randolph is the author of the international bestselling memoir “That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea.” He is the entrepreneur-in-residence at High Point University, an entrepreneurship leadership fellow at MIT, and a featured investor on Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Elevator Pitch” web series. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology from Hamilton College.

Daniel L. Harple Jr.

A technology entrepreneur and CEO for more than 30 years, Daniel L. Harple Jr. is considered an internet pioneer who has founded and built technologies, companies, and products used by billions of internet users. He has founded, grown, and merged companies with Netscape Communications, Oracle, and Sina, among others, driving at-scale global innovation and impacting users the world over. These innovations established foundational standards for internet collaboration, media streaming, and VoIP, used daily by billions across platforms such as Zoom, Skype, and YouTube.

Harple is chair and CEO of Context Labs BV, a company he founded based on his MIT research. The company delivers AI‑driven, auditable intelligence for industrial data, carbon management, and compliance. It provides AI-ready data infrastructure for global energy markets, creating context for the world’s most challenging persistent problems.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year, the Red Herring Watch Award, the Upside Hot Startup Award, the University of Rhode Island’s Alumni Excellence Award for Contributions to Science and Technology, and the NEA (New Enterprise Associates) President’s Award.

Harple holds an advanced degree from MIT and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and psychology from the University of Rhode Island.

Katherine Angell Brewster

Brewster has served as CEO of South Kingstown’s Jonnycake Center for Hope for more than a decade, leading the organization through a period of significant growth to become a cornerstone of support for residents facing economic hardship and providing food, financial assistance, housing and youth programming to more than 2,000 individuals.

During her tenure, Brewster has led the organization’s expansion into new initiatives, including the development of affordable housing and the creation of the Jonnycake Youth Center. Her career has spanned direct service and public policy, giving her a deep understanding of the systemic challenges facing families and the practical solutions that help communities thrive.

Prior to the Jonnycake Center, Brewster was executive director of the Economic Progress Institute, Rhode Island’s leading anti-poverty research and advocacy organization. She has also served on the boards of several prominent organizations, including the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Thundermist Health Center.

In 2022, she was honored with the Murray Family Prize in recognition of her commitment to improving the lives of Rhode Islanders in need. Brewster holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Social Work from Rhode Island College.

To learn more or to view a full schedule of ceremonies over URI’s Spring 2026 Commencement Weekend, visit: uri.edu/commencement/.

WORCESTER, Vt. (InvestigateTV) – In rural Vermont, where cell service can be nonexistent, residents are finding an unexpected solution to communication challenges: old-school pay phones.

Patrick Schlott, an electrical engineer and native of Vermont, has begun installing modified vintage pay phones in public spaces like libraries and town halls. These phones, part of his “Ran-tel” cooperative—short for the Randolph public telephone operating company—allow users to make free calls anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, with no coins or cards required.

“It’s just for anyone who needs to make a phone call,” Schlott said.

The idea was inspired by similar projects in cities like Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon.

Schlott, who has a passion for old technology, realized he could give back to his community by repurposing the equipment.

The phones are wired to run on free public Wi-Fi, which is why they are free to use.

For residents like Roger Strobridge in Worcester, the phones are a critical safety measure in an area where cell service is unreliable, particularly during harsh winters.

“I personally look at this pay phone that’s being installed as our answer to cell service and cell towers,” Strobridge said.

While the project started as a hobby, Schlott is already expanding, with a goal to have at least one Ran-tel phone in each of Vermont’s 14 counties.

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