Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was just a couple of years ago that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was touting New York as a leader in data center development, building massive new data centers to improve infrastructure.
Now, the state is pausing all of that with the first-in-the-nation moratorium on new data centers.
How did the state go from one extreme to the other?
"What's changed is that a lot of these data centers have come online or have started the permitting process and the public has grown incredibly wary of these. There was a poll in the Washington Post this weekend. It's one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats agree on," said Jack O'Donnell of O'Donnell and Associates.
He added that people are concerned that costs associated with grid improvements for data centers will be passed onto consumers.
The other factor, O'Donnell acknowledged, is that it's an election year and a pause will get the issue off the front burner beyond the November election.
"The reality is, anytime there's an election year, people are going to make election type decisions."
What would Bruce Blakeman do?
Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, would immediately scrap Gov. Hochul's one-year statewide moratorium on new data center construction. He views the ban as "crazy", and believes New York must actively compete with other states and countries for artificial intelligence and technology jobs.
Blakeman wants localities to be able to bypass the state pause and strike their own development deals with tech companies.
He also proposes requiring data center developers to build their own dedicated power generation (such as nuclear micro-reactors) and water recirculation systems to meet the massive demands for electricity and water.
"The public has grown incredibly wary of these. It's one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats agree on"
"The public has grown incredibly wary of these. It's one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats agree on"
