Environmental advocates and local officials gathered in Syracuse to call for a statewide moratorium on large scale data centers. They warn that the facilities could drive up energy costs, strain natural resources and undermine New York’s 2019 climate law.
The event was part of the New York Public Interest Research Group’s “Energy Hog Bus Tour,” which is traveling across the state to highlight concerns about energy infrastructure.
“Nationally, utilities requested more than $29 billion in rate increases in the first half of 2025 alone, double than what happened in the first half of 2024,” said Alex Bornemisza, NYPIRG’s western New York regional coordinator. “The state must do more to protect our wallets and our backyard from AI data centers as well as other energy intensive infrastructure.”
Increasing energy demands from proposed data centers, including a planned 300-megawatt facility in the nearby town of Lysander, have drawn local opposition. The proposed Lysander plant is the subject of a petition calling for a moratorium on datacenter development.
Onondaga County Legislator Maurice Brown says the proposed project threatens essential natural resources like local lakes and does not align with local priorities.
“No, this is not what we need in our community. We need safe drinking water, we need housing. We don't need to make corporations more profitable,” said Maurice Brown. “That's not our priority. Our priority is us, and as people in New York State, we have to realize the imminent threat that is these data centers.”
In addition to opposing data center expansion, advocates said they are working to protect New York’s climate law from proposed rollbacks.
Brown and others criticized Governor Kathy Hochul’s handling of the state’s climate law, particularly proposals they say could weaken the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Bornemisza called for greater transparency in budget negotiations affecting climate policy.
Some speakers also pointed to renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels saying they both are cheaper and faster.
“There’s no reason we shouldn’t have massive solar arrangements on every one of those schools. It would reduce our energy bills,” said Andy Mager of Syracuse Cultural works. “It would help support the schools. It would provide teaching opportunities for students to learn about renewable energy, and would allow us to do the kind of significant reductions in fossil fuel use that are so significant and so critical to a sustainable future.”
While advocates are pushing for a moratorium, some acknowledged that data center development may continue, raising questions about how to regulate and mitigate potential impacts. Solutions included requiring companies to pay higher electricity rates to adopt stricter environmental safeguards.
The bus tour will continue with stops in Albany, Kingston and New York City, as organizers seek to build statewide support for tighter regulation for data centers.