New York’s Data Center Moratorium is Nonsense Policy

Originally published by Newsweek

The state of New York wants to cede the AI race to China.

On July 14, the governor signed an executive order implementing the country’s first moratorium on new large data centers. For the next year, no new data centers will be built within the state’s borders.

Given the boon data centers provide blue-collar American workers, this is an odd and dangerous move. According to one analysis, “A standard 500-megawatt data center requires roughly 30,000 truckloads of concrete, structural steel, and copper.” That’s a lot of high-paying, working-class jobs gone from the state of New York.

Josh Price—a Virginia-based electrician—was out of work until the “AI boom” hit his county. In his own words, new data center builds provided his community—himself included—work that "brought dignity to so many people, and the dignity of hard work, of honest work." AFPI research proves Josh correct.

To read the full article, click here.