New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a first-of-its-kind statewide moratorium on data centers this week. This measure is the latest step in New York’s plan to be the nation’s leader in AI innovation and development towards the public good. A temporary year-long pause on State environmental permits is set to go into effect as the moratorium begins building strong standards for data center development.
“New York has always been at the forefront of innovation and change, but we’ve also always guaranteed that New Yorkers benefit. As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” said Hochul.
Before the moratorium, New York State had already begun implementing measures towards data center development through the Energize NY proceeding, which requires data centers to pay more for their energy or supply their own to keep energy affordable for New Yorkers.
Currently, the Department of Public Service is developing a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for data center developments while the moratorium is in place. Once complete, New York will use the GEIS to assess the potential environmental impacts of data center development and operation, not just in energy usage, but in water and air quality.
Additionally, measures have been put in place by the Empire State Development (ESD) to provide local communities a Community Investment Framework (CIF), which would help local governments negotiate for community benefits within a data center deal, from infrastructure improvements to other investments towards communities surrounding data centers.
The moratorium will only be lifted once these new standards are finalized, and new data center projects will need to abide by these new standards and obtain local approval.
