Lawmakers in New York state have put forward legislation proposing a minimum three-year halt on permits for building and operating new data centers. Although the bill’s future is unclear, Wired indicates that New York is now at least the sixth state to contemplate a temporary stop on data center development.
With technology firms intending to invest continuously growing sums into AI infrastructure, politicians from both Democratic and Republican parties have voiced worries regarding the potential effects these data centers could have on local areas. Furthermore, research has associated data centers with higher residential electricity costs.
Among the detractors are progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, who has advocated for a country-wide halt, and conservative Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who claimed data centers would result in “increased energy bills merely so a chatbot can potentially influence a 13-year-old online.”
Over 230 environmental organizations, such as Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace, recently submitted an open letter to Congress urging a nationwide cessation of new data center development.
Eric Weltman from Food & Water Watch informed Wired that the proposed New York legislation — introduced by state senator Liz Krueger and assemblymember Anna Kelles, both Democrats — originated from “their initiative.” Similar moratoriums on data centers have also been suggested by Democrats in Georgia, Vermont, and Virginia, with Republicans backing comparable bills in Maryland and Oklahoma.
As reported by Politico, Krueger characterized her state as “utterly unprepared” for the “enormous data centers” that are “targeting New York.”
“We need to implement a temporary halt, allowing us space to establish robust policies concerning data centers and to prevent becoming entangled in a speculative bubble that could collapse, leaving New York utility consumers with substantial costs,” she stated.
The previous month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a new program named Energize NY Development. Her administration stated this initiative aims to both update how major energy consumers (such as data centers) link to the power grid and ensure they “contribute equitably.”