New York Imposes Immediate Statewide Data Center Moratorium — 50MW Threshold, Energy and Water Impact Assessment Required

On July 14, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order imposing the nation's first statewide moratorium on large-scale data center construction. The order takes effect immediately and directs the Department of Environmental Conservation not to issue discretionary permits for new data centers with a power demand of 50 megawatts or more for up to one year, while state regulators develop a comprehensive regulatory framework. The Department of Public Service will prepare a Generic Environmental Impact Statement to establish consistent standards for evaluating proposed data centers' effects on energy demand, water use and quality, and air quality. Projects that have already received permits are not affected. A separate one-year moratorium bill passed by the state legislature in June, targeting data centers above 20 megawatts, has not yet been signed into law — meaning a further expansion of the threshold may follow. For environmental counsel and real estate lawyers advising data center clients, the immediate effective date makes this a live compliance constraint today: any client with a pending 50MW+ data center in New York that lacks a final permit needs to assess its development timeline, financing contingencies, and contract structures against the moratorium's duration and potential extension. The water use and air quality dimensions of the GEIS signal that the eventual regulatory framework will address environmental impact holistically, not only energy demand.