About 200 people gathered at Salt Point Natural Area in Lansing to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign legislation imposing broader regulations on large data centers, according to The Ithaca Voice.
The Responsible Data Center Development Act would halt permitting for data centers larger than 20 megawatts, compared with Hochul’s executive order covering new facilities larger than 50 megawatts.
The bill would also create separate water and energy rate classes for data centers and establish requirements involving renewable energy, labor standards, public participation and transparency.
The debate has particular relevance in Lansing, where TeraWulf is pursuing plans to transform the former Cayuga Power Plant into a 150-megawatt data center, though the company says Hochul’s executive order will not stop the project.
Hochul has until Dec. 31 to sign or veto the legislation, and if she takes no action the bill will not become law.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.