Data centers subjected to local approvals under Healey order
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order mandating local approval for data center projects and creating new state restrictions. This order aims to ensure transparency, community benefits, and addresses energy and environmental concerns. Meanwhile, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell proposed a city-wide ban on data centers, and a lawsuit continues against the Markley Group's data center in Lowell over environmental issues.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has issued an executive order requiring proposed data center projects to secure local approval before proceeding with state permitting. The order, which follows a halt to data center tax incentives earlier this summer, mandates community benefits agreements, bans non-disclosure agreements between state agencies and data centers to ensure transparency, and sets a framework for development.
The framework stipulates that data centers with peak electricity demand over 25 megawatts must either procure or develop their own clean energy resources to avoid burdening ratepayers and the electric grid. They must also be sited with adequate water, wastewater, and infrastructure, and minimize air emissions. The order also establishes a "Ratepayer Protection Fund" for data centers unable to immediately generate their own clean energy, with payments directed back to ratepayers.
In a related development, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell submitted a proposal to the City Council to ban data centers in the city, citing risks to infrastructure and quality of life posed by current zoning. The mayor seeks time for the Planning Department to draft a comprehensive approval process. However, Derek Santos of the New Bedford Economic Development Council noted the city lacks parcels large enough for modern data centers, making near-term development unlikely.
The state's actions coincide with ongoing challenges from the Lowell data center owned by Markley Group, where residents sued the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection over an approved air quality plan for diesel generators. A Middlesex Superior Court judge temporarily blocked the installation of four new diesel generators, though four already installed are permitted to operate.