Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order placing a statewide moratorium on new large-scale data centers for up to one year, marking a first in U.S. history.
The order freezes permitting for any new data center requiring 50 megawatts or more of electricity, targeting what has become the fastest-growing source of power demand in the country.
State regulators will use the pause to assess the long-term impact of data center expansion on New York’s electric grid, water resources, and surrounding communities.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation will conduct a Generic Environmental Impact Statement study and establish uniform statewide regulatory frameworks covering energy, water consumption, and air quality.
Smaller computing facilities operated by hospitals, universities, and back-office financial services firms are exempt from the executive order.
New York joins a growing list of states experiencing political backlash against power-hungry data centers, with communities pushing back against grid strain and rising utility bills.
A broad, bipartisan wave of opposition to large-scale AI infrastructure has been sweeping the country, with states introducing moratoriums, new electricity taxes, and rural zoning bans in response to public pressure.
Virginia, widely regarded as the world’s data center capital, has faced significant internal political division, with its legislature approving a biennial budget imposing an $0.011 per kilowatt-hour consumption tax on data centers.
Virginia has also passed legislation requiring data centers to pay for transmission infrastructure and limiting the use of noisy backup generators, while moving to establish an investment fund framework to help localities negotiate their own agreements with the industry.
At the federal level, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have embraced the push for moratoriums and are calling for a nationwide halt to data center construction.
Tech companies and their backers have argued that blocking data center construction hurts local job growth and cedes ground to China in the race to dominate the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry.
Maine appeared poised to establish a similar moratorium earlier this year, but the measure was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills because it would have blocked a proposed data center in a town struggling after the closure of a local mill.
Moratoriums have been proposed in at least a dozen states but have largely stalled, though some counties and municipalities have imposed their own temporary bans on new facilities.
Hochul’s decision also carries political significance heading into her reelection campaign and tight congressional races, as Democrats work to address affordability concerns tied to high utility bills and other household expenses.
Her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, opposes a statewide moratorium and argues that local governments should be free to strike their own deals with tech companies when data center projects promise sufficient economic benefits.
