Environmental advocates, elected officials and residents plan to gather Monday in Geneva to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign legislation placing a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers larger than 20 megawatts.
The noon press conference at the Finger Lakes Welcome Center, 35 Lake Front Drive, will focus on Greenidge Generation's planned shift toward artificial intelligence data-center operations and broader concerns about energy, water and community impacts, according to organizers.
The event is part of a statewide Stop Data Centers tour led by bill sponsor state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Food & Water Watch. Organizers said the Geneva stop will be livestreamed, though the advisory did not provide a viewing link.
Scheduled speakers include Gonzalez; Assemblymember Anna Kelles; Yvonne Taylor of Seneca Lake Guardian and the National Coalition Against Cryptomining; Laura Shindell of Food & Water Watch; Cornell University professor Robert Howarth; Michael Warren Thomas of Voice of the Finger Lakes; resident Ellen Campbell; Mark Pitifer of Waterloo Container; and Sachem Sam George of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Nation.
The Responsible Data Center Development Act passed both chambers of the state Legislature in June, according to the advisory. In addition to the moratorium, the measure would require future data centers to meet energy-efficiency standards, establish host-community benefit programs, use project labor agreements and hold public hearings before permits are approved.
Organizers said Hochul's July executive order temporarily halting data centers larger than 50 megawatts does not provide protections as broad as the legislation. They said it remains unclear whether Greenidge, which has rebranded as Vulcan Infrastructure and Power, would be covered by either measure.
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