Tonawanda Town Board passes data center moratorium
The Tonawanda Town Board unanimously enacted a local data center moratorium, mirroring a statewide pause by Gov. Kathy Hochul. This decision comes after residents' concerns about a proposed 300 MW data center and aims to allow time for researching new regulations. The developer, Riverview Technology and Innovation Campus, stated they are reviewing their path forward.
The Tonawanda Town Board in New York unanimously enacted a local moratorium on data center construction, imposing a one-year pause on new data center applications for projects exceeding 20 megawatts. This action, mirroring a recent statewide executive order by Governor Kathy Hochul for projects over 50 megawatts, followed months of public concern from residents regarding a proposed 300-megawatt data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site on River Road.
Supervisor John J. Flynn affirmed that the moratorium would prevent any new applications during this period, addressing resident fears that developers might circumvent the state or local pauses. Town officials intend to use this time to research potential new data center regulations and lobby state leaders for a unified framework.
The developer of the proposed Riverview Technology and Innovation Campus data center, which is the sole application in Tonawanda, issued a brief statement acknowledging the evolving situation and indicating they would review legal counsel to determine their next steps. This suggests the project faces a significant delay due to the newly enacted moratorium.