President Trump urged New York on Wednesday to reverse its recent moratorium on permitting and construction of new data centers that consume 50 megawatts or more of power.
He said Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order to restrict data centers will hurt the state.
“One of the biggest Driving Forces in the Future for Jobs, are Data Centers. They are big, strong, bold, and Money Machines for the State in which they are built. Governor Kathy Hochul, for political reasons, has terminated all Data Centers being built, or to be built, in New York State,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“These Companies are now being sought in Alabama, Florida, Texas, Arizona and many other States. Both the Taxes and the Jobs amount to LIQUID GOLD! New York State has made a terrible decision.”
Mr. Trump warned that all the income and other benefits from the data centers would go toward states largely controlled by Republicans and some states controlled by Democrats, where he said data centers are sought after as “cash cows,” with lower taxes and record-setting job creation.
“They must pay for their own Water and Power, and any leftover goes back to the State and local Community. Data Centers are tremendous WINS for the States and Communities that are lucky enough to get them,” he said.
The president called on New York to change its policy on data centers “immediately. … The Radical Left Dumocrats must not be allowed to cause us to lose Data Centers, AI, and all of this incredible new Technology, to China, and other countries!”
Ms. Hochul signed the executive order Tuesday imposing the country’s first statewide moratorium, lasting one year, on hyperscale data centers, which house thousands of computer servers and need huge amounts of energy and a steady supply of water to stay cool.
“The bottom line is that progress shouldn’t arrive with a higher utility bill, deleted water supply or noise pollution, so we have no choice but to address these challenges created by these massive facilities,” Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, said at a signing ceremony in Brooklyn.
Earlier in the year, Maine appeared ready to establish a similar moratorium, but the measure was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. She said it would have prevented a proposed data center in a town that has struggled after a mill shut down.
In April, some of Capitol Hill’s left-wing lawmakers seized on mounting opposition to data centers and introduced a bill that would place a moratorium on their expansion “to ensure the safety of humanity.”
Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, two of the most prominent socialists in Congress, introduced legislation that would pause construction of data centers until “strong national safeguards are in place” to protect workers from losing their jobs to artificial intelligence technology, ensure privacy rights are protected and address the risk of environmental harm.
“A moratorium will give us time — time to understand the risks, time to protect working families, time to defend our democracy and time to make sure this technology works for all of us, not just the very few,” Mr. Sanders said during a press conference announcing the legislation.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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