New York could be first state in the nation to hit pause on data center building

New York could be the first state in the nation to pass a moratorium on building new data centers over fears of energy shortages and environmental damage. Efforts to slow the speed of high-tech development continued with a rally Wednesday in Albany.

… New York Renews organizer Ryan Madden said he’s concerned the huge power needs of data centers for A- and cryptocurrency strain the grid and drive up energy costs for all consumers. The moratorium bill would allow the state to more completely examine the impacts and design guardrails. “So it's spelled out in the bill looking at water impacts, looking at utility rates, looking at impacts to disadvantaged communities under our climate law. So it's, yeah, it's a defined set of time for a defined set of purposes with a defined set of issues.”

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