News

New York State Data Center Ban

July 21, 2026

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) just signed into law a one-year moratorium on the building of new hyperscale data centers in the State of New York. 

What they're saying: In the announcement, Governor Hochul noted that the increase in New Yorkers’ energy bills was a key reason to sign the data center moratorium:

Why it matters: Across the country, opposition to data centers is growing.

• The issue is quickly becoming a flashpoint in the 2026 midterms, with many seeing the support or opposition of data centers as a litmus test for candidates on the state and federal level.
  
• Many have called for a review of the impact data centers have on the environment, specifically the effect they have on the drinking water and utility bills for residents. Data centers also attract criticism due to their noise and size.

If moratoriums on data centers gain steam across the country and locations for data center construction become more scarce, it could heighten competition and increase costs.

• An increase in costs could affect data center financing across the industry.

What’s next: The State of New York is the first state to enact a data center ban. However, 14 other states have proposed or introduced legislation to ban or halt the construction of data centers. For a full list, please click here.

Please contact James Montfort (jmontfort@crefc.org) with any questions.

News Archive