New York governor signs one-year halt on large data centers

First statewide freeze targets AI boom’s power demand

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to sign an executive order Tuesday banning construction of large new data centers for up to a year, her office said, making the state the first in the nation to enact a statewide moratorium on the facilities that power the artificial-intelligence boom.

The freeze targets data centers with capacities of at least 50 megawatts and halts projects still awaiting a permit, giving state regulators time to develop environmental and energy-grid standards. The moratorium will last as long as it takes to create those regulations but no more than one year, the governor’s office said. Hochul has also directed state officials to analyze how communities can financially benefit from data centers.

“No other state has enacted a similar freeze,” according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the planned order. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, vetoed a bill earlier this year that would have halted construction of new data centers; the legislature voted against an exemption she wanted for a single project. Dozens of cities and counties across the U.S. have issued temporary halts on data-center construction, and many states have proposed similar bans.

Communities have lashed out at data centers springing up across the country, fueling an anti-AI movement, according to the Journal. Residents say the facilities — which house the equipment powering AI and computing systems — could overwhelm local power supplies and hike utility bills. Some voters have attempted to remove politicians who supported data-center development, the report noted.

“New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development,” Hochul said, according to her office.

The ban would not extend to hospitals, universities, and other facilities that have smaller data centers, the governor’s office said. Data centers tend to be in areas with open land and power connectivity.

Hochul, a Democrat who is running for re-election in November, has enacted a series of policies in the past year that could appeal to her base, according to the Journal. She initiated a tax on luxury second homes and signed an AI safety bill into law.

Her office said she also wants to work with the state legislature to eliminate sales-tax subsidies for data centers.