New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order today that temporarily prevents the state from approving new permits for data centers of 50 megawatts or larger. Under the order, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will not issue permits that have not already been completed.
Who and what is affected, and why it matters
The moratorium applies to data centers with capacity of 50 megawatts or more and could affect more than a dozen planned or developing projects. At a press conference in Brooklyn, Hochul said: “Progress shouldn’t arrive with a higher utility bill, deleted water supply, or noise pollution. These data centers can only be built, should only be built in places that want them. So they will never be exempt from local zoning, local approvals.”
The pause responds to concerns that the increasing size and number of data centers is straining the electrical grid and regional resources such as water and farmland. A recent Pew Research report found that just 10% of Americans were more excited than concerned about AI in daily life, and only 23% thought AI would have a positive impact on how people do their jobs. Fewer than a quarter of the public expected AI to boost the economy, and less than a third had confidence the government would regulate the technology responsibly.
Timing and possible additional measures
Hochul said the moratorium will remain in place until the state finalizes an environmental review process for data centers, which she expects to take about a year. Her office is also considering requiring data centers to contribute to a fund to support the state’s electrical grid, and she indicated she would like to prevent hyperscale data centers from receiving tax benefits.
Legislative and national context
Hochul’s executive order comes as stricter measures are moving through New York’s legislature. Last month the legislature advanced a bill that would pause construction of data centers larger than 20 megawatts for one year, while another proposal still in committee would impose a three-year moratorium.
At the national level and in other states the idea of pausing data center construction has been debated: in December more than 230 organizations called for a nationwide pause on new data centers. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed a nationwide moratorium, though it has not gained broad traction. Maine’s legislature passed a bill that would have paused construction of new data centers until November 1, 2027, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed that measure.
Size trends and projections
Data centers built in recent years have typically been under 100 megawatts, but facilities in development are expected to be much larger as AI drives higher computing demand. BloombergNEF projects that through 2030 nearly a quarter of new data centers will exceed 500 megawatts.
Potential federal friction
The executive order could set up a clash with federal policy. The Trump administration and appointees have generally supported data center development; most recently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), led by a Trump appointee, instructed grid operators to develop special “fast lanes” to speed data centers’ interconnections.
Public sentiment and local opposition
Public sentiment toward data centers has soured as projects have grown in scale. Communities have raised concerns about pressures on local infrastructure and resources: two-thirds of respondents in a recent poll said they were worried data centers would drive up electricity prices, and other surveys found people would prefer an Amazon warehouse in their backyard to a data center.
By issuing the executive order, New York became the first U.S. state to implement a statewide pause on approvals for new large data centers, while officials work to define environmental, financial and local approval requirements.
