New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday ordered a one-year pause on permitting new hyperscale data centers, making the state the first in the U.S. to impose a statewide moratorium on large AI-focused facilities. The executive order halts approvals for sites with capacity above 50 megawatts while regulators draft standards addressing energy demand, water consumption, noise, and other environmental impacts. The administration is also weighing rules that would require operators to pay higher electricity rates or secure their own power to shield ratepayers from higher utility bills. The move follows rising community pushback to rapid data center growth and comes amid similar actions by localities, including a one-year pause in Seattle and a municipal ballot measure in Southern California. A Siena poll found 46% of New Yorkers support a one-year moratorium. The legislature previously advanced a broader bill with a 20-megawatt threshold and provisions on labor and transparency; Hochul’s order sets a higher cutoff and leaves that measure pending. The governor said data centers should be sited only where communities want them and proposed ending large-facility tax exemptions. The pause could delay some AI and cloud buildouts in New York while the state crafts a framework for siting and community benefits.
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