FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joyceline Kwarko, joyceline@agreeny.org
ALBANY, NY – Governor Kathy Hochul signed an Executive Order today making New York the first state to place a moratorium on permits for large data centers. The order applies to “hyperscale” data centers of 50 megawatts or more and directs state agencies to study the impacts on New York’s energy grid, water supply, and communities before any new permits move forward.
Alliance for a Green Economy welcomed the move as a meaningful, immediate step to protect some communities and called on the Governor to also sign the Responsible Data Center Development Act, the comprehensive bill passed by the legislature in June that protects more communities from a broader array of data center sizes and impacts.
“Today’s Executive Order is a necessary and welcome first step to slow down the massive build out of large power- and water-hungry data centers that have the potential to destroy local ecosystems, harm quality of life, and jack up energy and water bills,” said Jessica Azulay, Executive Director of Alliance for a Green Economy. “The Executive Order shows the Governor heard the concerns from thousands of New Yorkers and acted quickly to protect communities facing the largest data center proposals. We urge her to go even further and sign the bill the legislature passed in June to protect more communities for the long haul.”
The Executive Order signed today requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to put a hold on issuing new permits for large data centers while the Department of Public Service completes a full environmental review, including public hearings. It also directs state agencies to develop a framework local communities can use to negotiate benefits directly with data center developers, and to explore requiring data centers to help cover the cost of grid upgrades rather than passing those costs on to everyday ratepayers.
AGREE noted the order leaves gaps that the legislature’s bill can close. While the Governor’s Executive Order applies only to facilities at 50 megawatts and above, the yet-to-be-signed Responsible Data Center Development Act passed by both the NY Assembly and Senate in June applies a one-year moratorium to data centers 20 megawatts and above. That bill also applies renewable energy procurement and community benefits requirements on smaller data centers and contains much clearer and stronger requirements for data centers to pay for their use of electric and water infrastructure and not pass those costs on to other consumers.
None of this would have happened without the thousands of New Yorkers who showed up to hearings, signed petitions, and made calls, standing alongside Indigenous Nations and partners like Food and Water Watch, NY Renews and EarthJustice, who made this fight impossible to ignore. Their persistence is the reason the Governor moved to action today.
AGREE will continue to track the Department of Public Service’s environmental review process and the proceedings to address power consumption and costs and will keep New Yorkers informed as those processes move forward.
About Alliance for a Green Economy: Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) is a New York based nonprofit advancing a just transition to a clean, affordable, and democratically controlled energy system, with a focus on protecting ratepayers and accelerating the state’s climate goals.
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