New York Just Banned New AI Data Centers. Here's What It Means for Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Tuesday pausing new large-scale data center construction for up to a year -- the first building freeze by any U.S. state. The order applies to facilities that would use 50 megawatts of power or more.

In a statement, the governor said that “data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers” and that it was her “responsibility to take action and lead."

What the executive order does

Under the executive order, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation will stop issuing discretionary permits for large data centers. Applications already deemed complete will still be processed.

The state will draft a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) covering how these facilities affect energy demand, water, and air quality, a process expected to take up to a year. The moratorium will lift once the standards are final.

Image Source: Getty Images

Hochul also said she will pursue legislation repealing the sales-tax exemptions large data centers currently enjoy in New York, and directed regulators to weigh a fund requiring data centers to help cover grid upgrades.

New York's legislature actually passed its own one-year data-center ban in June, but at a lower threshold -- 20 megawatts -- which would cover far more projects. Hochul hasn’t determined if she will sign or veto it. Her office called the bill "complicated."

Why New York is pumping the brakes

Residential electricity rates in New York have jumped close to 68% over the past six years. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ranks New York as the 4th most expensive state for residential power.

New York has more than 12 gigawatts of power waiting to be connected to large-scale users like AI data centers. For scale: a single gigawatt is roughly enough electricity to run 750,000 homes.

A recent poll from Siena Research showed public support for a one-year moratorium at 46% of New Yorkers, with just 21% opposed.

Other states are watching closely

Though New York is the first, it’s far from the only state considering some sort of restriction or outright ban on new data centers. Fourteen other states have floated their own limits this year alone. The table below shows the current legislative picture.

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

What this means for investors

The order itself is unlikely to affect the big hyperscalers like Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon, and Microsoft directly -- none of them have major planned projects in the state and are building elsewhere in the U.S.

But other states are watching to see whether Hochul takes political heat for this. Right now, the polling suggests she won't. If more states follow suit -- states where the major hyperscalers are planning projects -- this could throw a serious wrench in things.

There are already major constraints on building AI compute capacity -- sufficient power is getting harder to come by, for one -- and any additional regulatory or legal hurdles could tip the precarious math underpinning some of these projects in the wrong direction.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t be too concerned yet when it comes to the Alphabets and Amazons of the world. I would be for smaller operators in less secure financial positions, like CoreWeave.

Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.