Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - Now that New York has its own moratorium on data centers, what happens to the Town of Tonawanda's plans for its own data center moratorium?
Town Supervisor John Flynn says he announced an Aug. 3 hearing on Monday on the town's moratorium, a day before Gov. Hochul signed the state's one-year moratorium.
"The reality is that our hearing on Aug. 3 is kind of a moot point," said Flynn in an interview with WBEN.
By law, though, the hearing must still be held.
According to Flynn, the Town Board will have options after that hearing.
"We can just basically table it, and wait a year until the moratorium ends on the state level, or we could kind of mirror what the state is doing and have a moratorium in place for a year," he said. "It could just kind of mimic what the state is doing. So we'll make that decision before Aug. 3."
The proposed data center is ground zero for Erie County and Western New York, Flynn feels.
"Obviously it's going to affect Erie County and Western New York. I've said it before, but put your arms around this. The amount of electricity that this data center wants to use on a daily basis is the equivalent of all the electricity in Tonawanda and Amherst combined. That's how much juice they want to use. So obviously, that amount of juice and that amount of electricity drawn from the grid isn't just a Tonawanda issue; it's a Erie County and Western New York issue," Flynn acknowledged. "As being a resident of not only the Town of Tonawanda but of Erie County and Western New York, I'm going to look out for my neighbors and make sure that all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed before I would ever even consider this data center."
Hochul had until Dec. 31 to sign into a law a bill passed by state legislators.
