East Fishkill Imposes Moratorium on Large Datacenters Amid Growing AI Infrastructure Backlash
The town of East Fishkill, New York, has enacted a three-year moratorium on the construction of datacenters larger than 20 megawatts. The decision follows intense local opposition to a potential 1,000-megawatt AI datacenter project proposed by Treetop Companies. While the town has a history of hosting technology firms, including IBM, residents expressed concerns regarding the scale of the proposed facility, its potential impact on electricity rates, and environmental consequences. Treetop Companies has appealed the moratorium, arguing it unlawfully targets their property. Shortly after the local ban, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a one-year statewide pause on new hyperscale datacenters, a move that drew criticism from Donald Trump.