New York pauses permits for large data centres

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Executive Order No. 62 on 14 July 2026, pausing discretionary state environmental permits for new data centres able to draw 50 megawatts or more. Hochul said the move makes New York the first US state to impose a statewide pause of this kind.

The pause blocks the Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing new permits to qualifying projects until the Department of Public Service finishes a Generic Environmental Impact Statement covering grid capacity, water use, air quality and effects on host communities, according to Axios. Hochul described the review as taking roughly one year, and reporting gives agencies until July 2027, though the order sets no fixed end date.

The order also directs the Public Service Commission to require data centres to pay for their own grid upgrades or supply their own power, according to DLA Piper. Empire State Development must require standard local union wages and union labour on construction. Hochul also ordered a Community Investment Framework to ensure towns hosting data centres receive benefits.

Some projects are exempt, including those mainly used for manufacturing, medical care, education or specified research, and facilities majority-owned by public institutions for research, such as the Empire AI project. Applications the DEC had already deemed complete before 14 July are also exempt, as are local-government permits. Contiguous sites count as a single data centre under the order.

The order cites nearly 12 gigawatts of projects in the New York grid operator's interconnection queue as of May 2026, more than 8 gigawatts of which joined the queue in 2025 alone.

The New York legislature had already passed a separate one-year pause on 4 June for projects of 20 megawatts or more, called the Responsible Data Center Development Act, but Hochul had not signed it.

Supporters of the order say it protects power bills and water supplies. Some business and labour leaders say it will push jobs and tax revenue to other states.

The Department of Public Service is now expected to carry out the environmental impact study before the pause on permits can be lifted.