New York has become the first US state to halt construction of large data centers. Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order that temporarily bars the state from approving new permits for data centers of 50 megawatts or larger, potentially stalling over a dozen projects. The Department of Environmental Conservation will not issue any permits that are not already complete. The moratorium will remain in place until the state finalizes an environmental review process for data centers, which Hochul expects will take roughly a year.

Hochul’s order is driven by both resource and public sentiment concerns. A recent Pew Research report found only 10% of Americans were more excited than concerned about AI use in daily life, and just 23% felt AI would have a positive impact on jobs. Hochul stated that progress should not arrive with higher utility bills, depleted water supplies, or noise pollution, and that data centers should only be built in places that want them. Her office is also considering requiring data centers to pay into a fund supporting the state’s electrical grid and preventing hyperscale data centers from receiving tax benefits.

More stringent measures are moving through New York’s legislature. One bill would pause construction of data centers larger than 20 megawatts for one year, while another would institute a three-year moratorium. Nationally, over 230 organizations called for a pause in December, and a proposed nationwide moratorium by Sen. Bernie Sanders has not gained traction. Maine’s legislature passed a similar pause until 2027, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed it.

Data centers have recently been sought after by states for development, but public sentiment has soured as projects have grown in size and begun straining electrical grids, water supplies, and farmland. A poll found two-thirds of respondents concerned about rising electricity prices, and another survey found people would rather have an Amazon warehouse in their backyard than a data center. The average data center built in recent years is under 100 megawatts, but nearly a quarter of new centers through 2030 are expected to exceed 500 megawatts, driven by AI investment. Hochul’s order may clash with the Trump administration, which has supported data center development; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently instructed grid operators to create fast lanes for data center interconnections.