ALBANY – The New York Public Interest Research Group is supporting Governor Hochul’s executive order that places a one-year moratorium on the permitting of hyper-scale data centers in New York. While the order affects data centers of 50 megawatts or more, NYPIRG said the regulation should be more inclusive.
NYPIRG Senior Environmental Program Coordinator Eric Wood said the power threshold should be lowered.
“The Governor’s Executive Order identifies the environment and energy grid threats of large data centers, but several facilities are being proposed that use less than 50MW of maximum grid power,” he said. “The state must lead the way to regulate this rapidly expanding industry and consider strengthening regulations to ensure that facilities between 5 and 50 MW don’t leave the public footing the bill, the environmental harm, and the nuisances that these centers present.”
Wood said the state must work to address energy affordability, while protecting the state’s natural resources from being exploited. He said hyperscale AI data centers “are a threat to both.”
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