Governors and state lawmakers everywhere have been iffy about following New York’s data center moratorium. They’re starting to get left behind.
Local moratoriums on data centers are taking hold in cities and counties nationwide, as the officials closest to data centers — and the public anger they inspire — seize the regulatory initiative from statehouses.
Mostly designed as pauses while officials create development standards, rather than outright bans, the spread of local moratoriums is shifting data center politics down to the grassroots level. That terrain is more difficult for hyperscalers to navigate.
Local opponents have better chances to steer the process, and a kaleidoscope of new rules adds time and expense to projects — to say nothing of the complexity of lobbying hundreds of local governments that are considering how to restrain the industry.
