New York Approves One Year Data Center Moratorium

The New York State Legislature has passed a one-year moratorium on permitting new large data centers, a first-of-its-kind statewide measure that now awaits Governor Kathy Hochul's signature. The bill, passed on June 4, would impose a temporary pause on permits for facilities requiring 20 megawatts or more of power at peak use while state agencies conduct a comprehensive study of their impacts.

The proposed moratorium is a response to surging demand for data processing capacity, largely driven by artificial intelligence, which has placed unprecedented strain on the state's electrical grid and raised environmental concerns. The New York Independent System Operator reported that by December 2025 it had received 48 large load requests totaling 12,000 megawatts, nearly double the requests from just five months earlier. Officials have warned that maintaining grid reliability amid this demand is a major challenge.

Under the legislation, the Department of Environmental Conservation would be required to study the effects of data centers on electricity consumption, water and land use, pollution, and disadvantaged communities. The bill also mandates that future data centers source an...