ORANGEBURG – Governor Hochul may have signed an executive order establishing a temporary moratorium on large-scale data centers over 50 megawatts, but it doesn’t go far enough, according to State Senator Kristen Gonzalez (D, Queens).
Her legislation with more requirements passed in both houses and awaits the governor’s action.
Gonzalez, organization Food & Water Watch and some 50 residents of Orangetown were at town hall on Tuesday evening calling on the governor to sign her bill.
The senator maintains those data centers would worsen the affordability crisis while they should require full environmental impact studies.
“Our bill specifically creates separate classes so that the cost of energy isn’t passed down to us or reflected in our utility bills,” she said.
Data centers already exist in Orangetown, and the town is now considering a proposed expansion of the DataBank data center campus. In July, the town planning board determined that an expansion requires a full environmental impact statement, “a major step” in determining the future of the project, opponents say.
Gonzalez has been traveling across the state, starting in Buffalo, traveling to 14 sites with hyperscale data centers or pending proposals, calling for the governor to sign her bipartisan legislation.
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