New York launches first statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers
New York has launched what the state describes as the first statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, pausing for one year the development of projects reported to be larger than 50 megawatts.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the legislation, identified as S10642 and called the Responsible Data Center Development Act, on July 14, 2026. The New York State Department of Public Service listed the launch of the statewide moratorium that day.
The action is a statewide intervention in the development of the largest proposed data centers. It is a temporary pause, not a permanent statewide prohibition on data centers.
What the one-year moratorium covers
Available reporting describes the moratorium as applying to new data-center developments larger than 50 megawatts. That reported threshold means the action is directed at a subset of proposed facilities rather than every data-center project in New York.
Hyperscale data-center developers proposing facilities above that threshold are the parties most directly affected by the reported pause. The source packet does not identify particular projects or companies subject to it.
The available material also does not establish that all forms of data-center construction are barred. The law’s reported scope is limited to new projects larger than 50 megawatts, and the packet does not provide the statute’s complete text.
Development policy and tax exemptions under review
During the one-year pause, the state intends to address data-center development policy and related tax exemptions. The review links the moratorium to broader state decisions about the terms under which large computing facilities are developed.
The Department of Public Service’s announcement places the action within New York’s energy and utility regulatory activity. The statewide intervention is also connected in the source packet to electricity demand, water use, land use, grid planning, tax incentives and economic-development policy.
Those connections explain why the measure reaches beyond a single construction proposal: large data centers can be considered in state decisions involving energy and utility regulation, development policy and tax treatment. But the available sources do not provide an analysis showing what the moratorium will mean for utility bills, grid conditions, water use, construction activity or any individual project.
Important limits in the available information
The one-year duration and the more-than-50-megawatt project threshold are reported details of the law. The official Department of Public Service listing confirms the launch of the statewide moratorium, while the additional details about S10642’s name, duration, threshold and tax-exemption review come from original reporting by Tom’s Hardware.
Neither source summary supplied to the newsroom includes the full statutory text. As a result, the available information does not specify exemptions, an effective date or how the measure treats projects already in the permitting pipeline.
It is therefore not established whether facilities with existing permits or projects at other stages of review are covered. It is also not established from the supplied material whether some types of facilities fall outside the reported threshold under provisions not included in the summaries.
What happens next
The next confirmed step is New York’s planned consideration of data-center development policy and related tax exemptions during the one-year moratorium. The one-year period is the only deadline identified in the source packet.
Further state guidance or the full text of S10642 would be needed to clarify implementation details, including exemptions and the status of projects already seeking approvals. Until then, the verified scope is a statewide, one-year pause reported to apply to new hyperscale data-center projects larger than 50 megawatts.
Sources
- First Statewide Moratorium on New Hyperscale Data Centers Launched, New York State Department of Public Service
- New York enacts one-year data center ban on projects larger than 50 megawatts, Tom's Hardware
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