{"id":3354,"date":"2026-06-22T08:32:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/?p=3354"},"modified":"2026-06-22T08:32:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:32:36","slug":"will-governor-hochul-hit-the-pause-button-on-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/will-governor-hochul-hit-the-pause-button-on-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Governor Hochul Hit the \u201cPause\u201d Button on Data Centers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everywhere you look, there is a growing concern over the threats posed by A.I. data centers.\u00a0 We have relied on data centers for years, but the burgeoning construction of new, more massive<\/a> ones has hit a nerve in an increasingly cost-conscious America.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until recently, when we asked where our stored electronic information went, we were told \u201cthe cloud.\u201d  Of course, there is no information \u201ccloud<\/a>\u201d; our data is stored in computers.  Stored in computers that are housed all over the country<\/a> \u2013 indeed sometimes the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of computers to store our data, process online transactions, and handle our internet information requests and computations, is mind-boggling<\/a>.  With the rise of the use of A.I., so-called \u201cartificial intelligence,\u201d the projected demand for computer space and capabilities is mushrooming and accelerating<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that demand comes the need for more and more access to computers, computers that are stored in massive buildings, and now being built all around the nation at an increasing speed.  Those computer buildings are known as \u201cdata centers\u201d and their thirst for energy<\/a> and often water<\/a> (for cooling) is virtually insatiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The construction and use of these data centers is driving a rise<\/a> in utility rates all across the nation and New York is not immune.  Beyond those costs these massive data centers can be \u201cenergy hogs.\u201d  According<\/a> to New York regulators, the electricity demand of proposed data center projects totals more than 11,000 MW, equivalent to around 1.5 times the demand of all New York State households combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the past legislative session, lawmakers took a step toward slowing down the data center construction \u201crace\u201d to allow time to formulate policies to ensure the public is protected.  The legislation, the Responsible Data Center Development Act<\/a>, places a one-year moratorium on data center development while reasonable safeguards are created.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cball\u201d will soon be in Governor Hochul\u2019s \u201ccourt.\u201d  It is the governor who will decide if this legislative \u201cpause\u201d button gets pushed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the public\u2019s perspective, it makes perfect sense to take a breath before embarking headlong into a data centers construction boom.  If the bill is enacted, New York policy makers will have one year to put adequate safeguarding in place. Those safeguards should these five proposals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insulate the public from getting stuck with the bill if the data center flops or falls short<\/a>.  New Yorkers should not be left \u201cholding the bag\u201d if data center projects go belly up or greatly underperform.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make data centers\u2019 permits and contracts available to the public without secrecy.  One national review<\/a> of data centers found that required permitting for data centers were shielded from public disclosures.  New York has such exemptions<\/a> in its open public records law that can be used to keep these contracts secret.  They must not be.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There must be regular, ongoing monitoring and public reporting of water use<\/a>, as well as noise<\/a> impacts.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensure that not one residential utility ratepayer dollar should be \u2013 directly or indirectly — used to subsidize data centers.  Data centers are expected to need a fantastic amount of electricity; they must not be driving up utility rates for New Yorkers.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not one electron from the existing grid should be used to power data centers.  Another way to jack up utility rates to subsidize data centers is by diverting current electricity in the grid to power data centers<\/a>.  Then ratepayers are on the hook to come up with new energy capacity.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, none of these protections can take place without the governor\u2019s approval of the Responsible Data Center Development Act.  New Yorkers have heard a lot about the need to tackle skyrocketing utility rates.  This legislation does something about it.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everywhere you look, there is a growing concern over the threats posed by A.I. data centers.\u00a0 We have relied on data centers for years, but the burgeoning construction of new, more massive ones has hit a nerve in an increasingly cost-conscious America.\u00a0\u00a0 Until recently, when we asked where our stored electronic information went, we were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3355,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3354\/revisions\/3355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}