Binghamton residents and Citizen Action of New York, a local grassroots advocacy organization, rallied in Downtown Binghamton to call for stronger data center regulation, seeking to protect the health of local communities.

Participants gathered on Aug. 21 to advocate for stronger data center regulation in New York. In July, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Executive Order No. 62, which called for a one-year moratorium on new data centers that use 50 megawatts of energy or more. Advocates argued that despite being a step in the right direction, the executive order does not do enough to protect Southern Tier communities.

“Our communities cannot afford to allow data centers to drive up our already too-high utility bills,” said Omar Acosta-Nuñez BA’24, MA ‘26, the Southern Tier Community Campaigns Organizer for Citizen Action of New York. “We need stronger protections than Governor Hochul’s temporary data center moratorium to make sure that New Yorkers don’t suffer from potential threats data centers pose to our air, our water, our climate, and our wallets.”

The executive order halts the approval of state environmental permits for up to a year while a new framework to ensure sustainability is developed. The framework plans to create a Generic Environmental Impact Statement to ensure data centers are being held to consistent standards. Additionally, Hochul is considering a repeal of tax exemptions and the creation of a deposit for electrical grid improvements funded by hyperscale data centers.

“New York has always been at the forefront of innovation and change but we’ve also always guaranteed that New Yorkers benefit,” Hochul said in a press release. “As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead. New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too.”

However, advocates pointed to several issues with the executive order. While the order specifically places a hold on centers operating with 50 megawatts of energy or more, most data centers in New York lie far below that line.

“While the advocates acknowledged the executive order is a first step, they made it clear that the moratorium does not go far enough in protecting Southern Tier communities and standing up to the Big Tech special interests,” said Climate Action in a press release for the protest.

Advocates voiced their support for the Responsible Data Center Development Act, sponsored by State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. The act would place a one-year moratorium on the issuance of new data center permits, require utilities to establish an independent classification of service for large data centers, set energy efficiency goals for data centers and provide benefits for host communities where data centers have peak loads of over 20 megawatts. The bill requires the Governor’s signature to be enacted into law.

“Frankly, the bill is complicated,” a Hochul staffer said during a press call. “It’s going to take some time to work through it with the legislature, and this felt like the fastest way to be able to act now.”