纽约州暂停所有新建大型数据中心项目
纽约州成为全美首个暂停数据中心建设的州。州长Kathy Hochul签署行政令，暂时禁止州政府批准50兆瓦及以上大型数据中心的新建许可，可能影响十余个项目。Hochul表示数据中心不应带来更高的电费、水资源消耗或噪音污染，且不能豁免地方区划和审批。禁令将在州政府完成数据中心环境审查流程后解除，预计耗时约一年。Hochul还考虑要求数据中心为州电网提供资金支持，并阻止超大规模数据中心享受税收优惠。此举正值纽约州立法机构推进更严格措施之际，上月一项法案已推进暂停20兆瓦以上数据中心建设一年。
纽约州开了第一枪，暂停所有大型数据中心审批，这可能是AI狂飙时代开始遇到物理世界的硬约束，做基础设施的得重新掂量选址风险了。
New York became the first state to halt data center construction after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order today that temporarily bars the state from approving new permits for large projects.
Hochul’s order applies to data centers 50 megawatts or larger, potentially affecting more than a dozen projects. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation will not issue any permits that haven’t already been completed.
While resource concerns have fueled some of the backlash, broader concern about AI has been behind much of it as well. A recent Pew Research report found that only 10% of Americans were more excited than concerned about AI use in daily life, and just 23% felt that the technology would have a positive impact on how people do their jobs. Less than a quarter of the general public feels that AI will give the economy a boost, and less than a third were confident that the government would regulate the technology responsibly.
“Progress shouldn’t arrive with a higher utility bill, deleted water supply, or noise pollution,” Hochul said at a press conference in Brooklyn. “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 moratorium will be lifted once the state finalizes an environmental review process for data centers, which Hochul expects will take about a year. Hochul’s office is also considering requiring data centers to pay into a fund that would support the state’s electrical grid, and she would like to prevent hyperscale data centers from receiving tax benefits.
Hochul’s executive order arrives as more stringent 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 still in committee would institute a three-year moratorium.
The average data center built in the last few years has been smaller than 100 megawatts, but those in development are expected to be much larger as AI drives computing demands higher. Through 2030, nearly a quarter of new data centers will exceed 500 megawatts, according to BloombergNEF, driven by increasing AI investment.
The idea of a data center moratorium has been debated at the state and federal levels, but New York is the first to put one into practice. In December, more than 230 organizations called for a nationwide pause on new data centers. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has also proposed a nationwide moratorium, though it hasn’t received much traction. More recently, Maine’s legislature passed a bill that would have paused construction on new data centers until November 1, 2027, but Gov. Janet Mills vetoed it.
Just years ago, data centers were sought after by states eager to secure new development projects, but recently, public sentiment on data centers has soured as new projects have grown in size. The scale and pace at which they’re being constructed has started to strain the electrical grid in addition to regional resources like water and farmland. Two-thirds of respondents to a recent poll said they were concerned about data centers driving up electricity prices. Another survey found that people would rather have an Amazon warehouse in their backyard than a data center.
Hochul’s order could be setting up for a clash with the Trump administration, which thus far has supported data center development. Last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is led by a Trump appointee, told grid operators to develop special fast lanes to speed data centers’ interconnections.
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Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor.
De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA degree in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College.
You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing [email protected].
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