State senator behind data center moratorium bill planning WNY visit

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, a Democrat representing Manhattan, is scheduled to visit Erie and Niagara counties in Western New York to engage with local officials and opponents of the proposed DigiPowerX and Tonawanda Coke data centers in the Tonawandas. Her visit aims to build public support for her "Responsible Data Center Development Act," a bill that passed both houses of the state Legislature but was superseded by Governor Kathy Hochul's executive order.

Gonzalez's proposed legislation calls for a one-year data center moratorium with stricter environmental review requirements and a reduced maximum energy use limit of 20 megawatts. This contrasts with Governor Hochul's executive order, which imposed a year-long moratorium on "hyperscale" data centers with a 50 MW limit. The senator argues that Hochul's measure is insufficient, especially given the significant energy demands of projects like DigiPowerX (60 MW) and the Tonawanda Coke project (300 MW).

Citing an ongoing "energy crisis" and potential strains on the state's power grid, Gonzalez emphasized that current energy infrastructure cannot realistically support the proposed 9,000 MW of data center demand across the state. She also warned of record-high utility bills for consumers if a separate energy class for data centers is not established, as her bill would require. Bridge Rauch, an environmental justice organizer with the Clean Air Coalition of W.N.Y., echoed these concerns, noting that two gigawatts of data center projects are proposed or operating across Erie and Niagara counties. Rauch also highlighted the Town of Tonawanda's recent local moratorium, which addresses the 20 MW threshold not covered by the governor's order. North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec expressed support for state-level protections to help communities manage data center impacts.