Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced an executive order that places a statewide pause on new hyperscale data center approvals while New York develops a uniform regulatory framework, a move the administration calls the first moratorium of its kind in the nation.
The order temporarily suspends issuance of certain state environmental permits for up to one year while the state’s Department of Public Service (DPS) prepares a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) to evaluate potential impacts of large data centers — including effects on energy demand, water use and air quality. During the GEIS process, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will not issue discretionary permits that are not considered complete.
The administration also directed Empire State Development (ESD) to produce a Community Investment Framework (CIF) within 60 days to guide local negotiations for community benefits tied to any large data center projects. ESD’s CIF is intended to help communities secure local infrastructure improvements, childcare investments, direct financial support, prevailing-wage and labor protections, local hiring, and workforce-development programs as part of any deals with data center developers.
The governor’s office said the pause will give state agencies time to set uniform standards so new projects can proceed only if they meet state environmental requirements and local approvals. The administration is also pushing legislation to repeal statewide sales-tax exemptions that apply to large data centers.
As part of earlier steps, the governor ordered the DPS to begin a process dubbed Energize NY to explore requiring data centers to pay more for their electric service or self-supply power so that energy costs remain affordable for New Yorkers. The DPS is additionally being asked to consider a New York Grid Acceleration Fund that would require data center investments in grid infrastructure and could support new clean generation and battery storage dedicated to data center operations.
Roundtable participants
The announcement accompanied a statewide roundtable that included legislators, local officials and advocacy and economic development groups. Participants listed by the governor’s office included Assemblymember Didi Barrett; state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez; city and local officials such as Kingston Mayor Steve Noble and Malta Town Supervisor Cynthia Young; business and civic leaders including Robert Simpson of CenterState CEO and Dan Kelleher of ROOST; and advocates including Laurie Wheelock of the Public Utilities Law Project and Ned Sullivan of Scenic Hudson.
What this means for Western New York
The executive order applies statewide and therefore would pause state-level discretionary permitting for any pending or proposed hyperscale data centers in Western New York while the GEIS and CIF are developed. The release does not identify specific projects or sites in Western New York that will be affected. Local municipalities and developers that rely on DEC or other state discretionary approvals could see permitting timelines delayed until the GEIS process is complete and any new statewide standards are issued.
The administration framed the measures as efforts to protect utility customers, water resources, the environment and the electric grid while ensuring communities can negotiate tangible local benefits from large development proposals.
State officials said the moratorium is temporary and that once state standards are finalized and projects meet those standards and local zoning requirements, the pause will be lifted and projects may proceed.
