ALBANY, N.Y.— Yesterday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order establishing the nation’s first statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers. This order is a self-inflicted wound that will drive jobs, investment, and innovation out of New York.
“New Yorkers are being told that this moratorium protects them from rising energy costs, but other states have already demonstrated a successful alternative that doesn’t halt investment. Through the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, data center developers there cover the full costs of their energy, water, and infrastructure requirements,” said Amy Bos, Vice President of Government Affairs at NetChoice.
“Furthermore, in Louisiana, these projects have already directed over $1.6 billion in contracts to local businesses and committed more than $1 billion to provide upgrades to regional roads and water systems,” continued Bos. “States should adopt a similar approach rather than imposing New York’s effectively indefinite permit freeze, which blocks such significant investment from occurring.”
The order raises serious policy concerns that will ultimately harm the very ratepayers and communities it aims to protect:
- It halts new data center construction rather than pairing growth with the kind of ratepayer safeguards other states have already put in place, punishing the industry instead of tackling underlying cost drivers.
- It ignores the proven model of developer-funded infrastructure, where data center operators, not residents, shoulder the costs of the energy, water, and grid upgrades their projects require.
- It forfeits the local economic benefits other states are already capturing, including major contracts for local businesses and direct investment in roads, water systems, and other public infrastructure.
- It sends a clear signal to developers that New York is closed for business, ceding jobs, tax revenue, and technological leadership to states actively competing for these investments.
New York should protect ratepayers without sacrificing jobs and investment. To do so, they can look to states that have already built a workable framework rather than imposing a freeze on one of the fastest-growing sectors of the American economy.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.