New York has imposed the first statewide US moratorium on permits for large data centers, pausing qualifying projects while regulators develop rules for their effects on the power grid, water supplies, air quality, and surrounding communities. Governor Kathy Hochul’s executive order applies to facilities capable of consuming at least 50 megawatts and is expected to remain in place for up to one year.
The order directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to hold in abeyance applications for discretionary state permits covering the construction or expansion of data centers that were not deemed complete before July 14. It does not suspend local permits, and projects primarily used for manufacturing, research, education, or medical care are exempt. That scope makes the action narrower than a blanket stop on every data center development in the state.
The pause will last until the Department of Public Service completes a Generic Environmental Impact Statement. The review will assess energy demand, water use and quality, air quality, noise, and disproportionate effects on disadvantaged communities. Projects will be able to proceed after the standards are finalized if they comply with state and local requirements.
New York said nearly 12 gigawatts of proposed data center load were in the state’s interconnection queue as of May, including more than 8 gigawatts added during 2025. The queue gives the order a scale beyond individual local disputes: requested capacity is large enough to affect generation planning, transmission investment, and costs for other customers. It turns the global power bottleneck facing hyperscalers into a statewide permitting issue.
Queue requests do not guarantee projects will be built. The order specifically directs regulators to protect ratepayers from grid investments made for speculative loads that are later delayed, reduced, or cancelled.
Hochul also directed Empire State Development to create a Community Investment Framework within 60 days, giving localities guidance on infrastructure funding, labor standards, and direct community benefits. State regulators will consider a Grid Acceleration Fund that could require data center operators to make upfront contributions for network upgrades, clean generation, battery storage, and insurance against abandoned projects. The governor is separately pursuing legislation to repeal sales tax exemptions for massive facilities.
The order puts New York on the restrictive side of a national competition for AI infrastructure, with the state prioritizing ratepayer and environmental protections over immediate hyperscale construction. The Data Center Coalition warned that investment and jobs could move elsewhere. Similar infrastructure pressures are already visible in energy costs and grid constraints stalling projects abroad, but New York is the first US state to answer them with a statewide moratorium.
Sources: New York Governor’s Office, Associated Press
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By the Control Plane Editorial Team