(TNS) \u2014 Niagara Falls\u00a0will be one of the first stops for a state senator\u2019s tour of\u00a0New York\u00a0concerning data center development.<\/p>\n
Kristen Gonzalez, representing New York\u2019s\u00a059th Senate District, which covers areas of\u00a0Queens,\u00a0Brooklyn, and\u00a0Manhattan\u00a0along the\u00a0East River, is taking part in an eight-day, 13-stop \u201cNew York Fights AI Data Centers\u201d tour, hearing concerns from residents who live near proposed data center sites. She is also advocating for the Responsible Data Center Development Act, creating new regulations for future centers.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunities near existing data centers have experienced higher electricity bills, undrinkable water, and noise pollution causing health problems,\u201d the release announcing this tour reads. \u201cWithout strong safeguards, these facilities risk driving up utility bills for everyday New Yorkers, strain our electric grid, increase water use and pollution, and undermine our climate goals \u2014 all while providing relatively few permanent local jobs once construction is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonzalez will visit\u00a0Western New York\u00a0this Saturday along with the\u00a0Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, starting at the\u00a0Trinity Church\u00a0at\u00a0371 Delaware Ave.\u00a0in\u00a0Buffalo\u00a0at\u00a011 a.m., followed by site visits to six proposed data center locations in\u00a0Erie\u00a0and\u00a0Niagara\u00a0counties.\u00a0Her Niagara Falls\u00a0appearance will be at\u00a07 p.m.\u00a0at the\u00a0Doris Jones Community Center\u00a0at\u00a03001 9th St.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross Erie and\u00a0Niagara\u00a0counties, we have about 2 GW of proposed or operating data center projects for cryptomining, as well as AI data centers,\u201d said\u00a0Bridge Rauch, the Environmental Justice Organizer with the\u00a0Clean Air Coalition. \u201cThis has become a new, unregulated industrial sector that has really caused a lot of problems for residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following day, Gonzalez plans to visit\u00a0Alabama\u00a0in\u00a0Genesee County, the proposed site of the STAMP data center, and meet with organizers there. Other communities she plans to visit include\u00a0Seneca Lake,\u00a0Orangeburg,\u00a0East Fishkill,\u00a0Albany,\u00a0Ithaca, and\u00a0Syracuse.<\/p>\n
This past July,\u00a0New York\u00a0became the first state to establish a one-year moratorium on new data centers, with Gov.\u00a0Kathy Hochul\u00a0directing state regulators to create standards that would address environmental impacts, energy demand, and water usage among other factors.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez helped write the Responsible Data Center Development Act, which passed both state legislative chambers. This omnibus bill combines several previously introduced bills dealing with data center development and would:<\/p>\n
Establish a one-year moratorium on new data center permits for those with a peak load of over 20 MWRequire a public hearing in the local community prior to permit approvalRequire the DEC to conduct an environmental impact report on data centersCreate new electric and water rate classes for data centers over 20 MWEstablish energy-efficient goals for data centers with a peak load of over 5 MWCreate a host community benefit program requiring data centers with peak loads over 20 MW to invest in the local communitySet labor standards for data center construction for those with peak load over 5 MWNiagara County\u00a0is home to five different data center complexes, those being the\u00a0Lake Mariner\u00a0center in Somerset, Digipower X in\u00a0North Tonawanda, the H5 Data Centers in\u00a0Lockport, and the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0Bitcoin and Blockfusion centers in\u00a0Niagara Falls. Five reportedly proposed data centers would be in\u00a0Niagara Falls, which include NFR\u2019s proposed center in the downtown area, Whattum Management\u2019s center on\u00a0Portage Road, and three locations for\u00a0Globe Digital Holdings\u00a0on\u00a0Packard Road\u00a0and\u00a0Highland Avenue.<\/p>\n
Statewide, there are 38 proposed large data center projects that would use a combined 11,900 MW of new electricity demand, nearly double that of all state households.<\/p>\n