'We're really drawing a line in the sand': New York could be the first state to put a temporary ban on large data centers

• New York is close to a one-year data center moratorium
• The governor still needs to sign the bill into law
• Backers of the ban want to see more details on environmental impact

Public sentiment seems to have taken a turn against large data center developments, and the trend shows no signs of stopping. Now we might have the first state-wide ban of its kind in New York, after lawmakers passed a one-year moratorium (a temporary prohibition) on large data centers with a peak demand of 20 megawatts or more.

As The Guardian reports, while the New York State legislature has passed the moratorium, it's not law yet: it still needs the signature of Governor Kathy Hochul, who hasn't said one way or the other if she will approve the bill, and has until December to decide.

So, there are caveats here. It's more of a temporary pause than a ban, it's not written into law yet, and it only applies to large data centers. Even so, it's potentially the biggest legal move yet against the construction of these data processing structures.

"This is one of the first times that we're really drawing a line in the sand and saying that as a state legislature, we have the responsibility to make sure that New Yorkers are in the driver's seat," said New York State senator Kristen Gonzalez. "Big tech has been used to writing their own rules, or not having rules that they have to play by."

Keeping the AI lights on

The purpose of the moratorium is to allow more time for New York authorities to assess the impact of data centers in terms of their energy use and environmental impact, and the state's environmental agency will be tasked with putting together a report that lays out the demand on electricity, water, and land that comes from these buildings.

One recent survey suggested that 71 percent of Americans don't want data centers constructed in their local area, with concerns over water and electricity use the main reasons why — so these structures are now less popular than nuclear power plants.

The main reason that so much compute capacity is needed is of course AI. Despite promises by AI companies that data centers will become much more eco-friendly in the near future, this isn't the case for many projects currently at the planning stage.

As The Register reports, the moratorium has its opponents too. Some politicians and industry figures are arguing that data center development is essential for economic growth and technological advancement, while also acknowledging that concerns over energy usage and environmental impact need to be addressed.

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