ALBANY, New York — Gov. Kathy Hochul is moving to get ahead of a potential wave of large new data centers in New York and address concerns about their potential to drive up energy costs.
Hochul announced plans to require data centers to pay more for energy — or bring their own sources. It’s an approach that’s drawn bipartisan support, including from President Donald Trump and California Democrats.
“Data centers are vital for an innovative future. But they guzzle up tremendous amounts of energy and leave ratepayers footing the bill,” Hochul said during her State of the State address on Tuesday.
New York hasn’t seen major new data center development yet, but there are thousands of megawatts of proposed projects — some speculative, others actively seeking local approvals — looking to connect to the state’s grid. Demand for data centers is driven by the explosion in artificial intelligence usage.
