New York to Enact Nation’s First Statewide Moratorium on Data Centers

Jul 14, 2026

New York Governor Kathy Hochul will sign an executive order imposing a one-year pause on the construction of the largest data centers. The moratorium is intended to allow the state to assess the environmental and energy impacts of these facilities.

Why it matters: This is the first statewide moratorium on data centers in the U.S., potentially setting a precedent for how states regulate the energy-intensive infrastructure powering AI and cloud computing.

Full story at: The New York Times / AI ↗