New York will block construction of new hyperscale data centers for up to a year, with Governor Kathy Hochul set to sign an executive order Tuesday imposing the first statewide moratorium of its kind in the US.
The order pauses state permitting for large data centers and directs regulators to draw up standards covering environmental impact, energy demand and water usage. The facilities, which power AI systems, house thousands of servers and consume massive amounts of electricity and cooling water.
“It’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Hochul said in a statement, citing the threat of rising utility bills and depleted resources.
Tech companies argue such bans cost local jobs and cede ground to China in the AI race. Moratoriums have been floated in at least a dozen states without success — Maine’s Democratic governor vetoed a similar measure this year over a data center project in a struggling mill town.
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