To meet the ever-growing processing power demands of artificial intelligence, giant data centers are being established all over the world. The US and China, in particular, are in an arms race in this field. However, with public resources being poured into data centers on one hand, and their increasing need for energy, water, and space on the other, the burden created by these data centers is becoming increasingly noticeable. Indeed, in recent times, there has been a significant reaction against data centers, especially in the US. In some cities, the public is organizing protests to prevent data centers from being built in their areas. Meanwhile, pressure on public officials to take action is also increasing. This demand has started to find a response in some regions. This week, we saw one of the most striking reflections of this growing pressure in New York.
The New York State Assembly approved a bill that would halt the construction of large data centers for one year. If New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs this bill, New York will become the first US state to impose a statewide moratorium (temporary ban) on data centers. The lawmakers behind the bill aim to gain a clearer understanding of the environmental and energy infrastructure impacts of data centers during this period.
According to the bill, New York's environmental agency will prepare a comprehensive impact report. This report will examine how much electricity data centers consume, how much water they use, how much land they occupy, and how much pollution they generate. Furthermore, companies wishing to establish new data centers will be required to hold public meetings at least three months before receiving project approval. The funding for these meetings will also be directly covered by the companies developing the projects.
The bill specifically targets large-scale data centers. Accordingly, facilities with a peak power demand of at least 20 megawatts will be evaluated under this scope. For comparison, an energy consumption of 20 megawatts is equivalent to the electricity needs of thousands of households. Modern data centers built for training AI models today can far exceed this.
Similar Movements Gaining Momentum in Utah and California
The reaction against data centers is not limited to New York. Surveys show that a significant portion of Americans do not want data centers in their areas. Indeed, similar protests are being organized, and demands for similar laws are increasing in other states like Utah and California.
On the other hand, industry representatives oppose this moratorium and the struggle against data centers. Some business organizations argue that data centers are critical not only for technology companies but also for the state and national economy. Considering all this, New York's step can be seen not only as a local environmental policy but also as the first breaking point in a larger discussion about the energy cost of the AI era.
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