New York moved closer to being the first state to pause building out new data centers as lawmakers, citing voter concerns over utility spikes, advanced a one-year moratorium on the energy-intensive facilities Thursday.
Democratic lawmakers this week rapidly coalesced around a “responsible data center development” measure that includes the one-year pause on new permitting for data centers that require at least 20 megawatts of energy. The package now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) who hasn’t supported a moratorium outright but said last week she is weighing the measure.
Lawmakers mentioned residential concerns over what data centers could mean for ...