Assembly Announces the Passage of Legislation Placing a One-Year Moratorium on Development of Data Centers

Speaker Carl Heastie and Energy Committee Chair Didi Barrett today announced the Assembly has passed legislation that would pause the development of data centers in New York for one year to allow the state to study their impact on communities and the environment (A.11560, Barrett). This legislation would be the first of its kind in the nation.

“Data centers require significant amounts of energy, natural resources and space to operate,” Speaker Heastie said. “The Assembly Majority is committed to ensuring these facilities do not exacerbate skyrocketing energy costs, pass along costs to ratepayers, or undermine the availability of resources that our communities rely on, such as water. This legislation will allow New York to take a step back for one year and study the potential impacts of data centers to protect our communities, environment and ratepayers.”

“Across the state our constituents are talking about data centers: they are worried about data centers, they are confused about data centers and they are looking for answers about data centers,” said Assemblymember Didi Barrett. “As Legislators it is our job to help our state address this issue with a measured, thoughtful, and comprehensive approach to ensure the responsible operation and development of data centers, to protect our natural resources and to make sure that ratepayers are not being asked to unfairly subsidize the costs – economic and environmental – of this industry. I am proud to sponsor the Responsible Data Center Development Act to take a holistic look at the proliferation of data centers and their impacts and put meaningful regulations in place. I thank Speaker Heastie and my colleagues for passing this timely, common-sense bill.”

This bill establishes a moratorium on issuing permits to data centers for one year, requires hearings prior to data center permit issuances and requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to prepare an environmental impact report on data center development in the state. It also requires the Public Service Commission to establish a separate rate classification for data centers and data centers to source increasing percentages of their electricity consumption from renewable energy systems, either via on-site production or power purchase agreements. Data centers would also be required to provide their host communities with benefits including residential energy technologies and community infrastructure, as well as prevent adverse impacts on local waters.