Albany – In her State of the State address today, Governor Hochul included a proposal to make data centers “pay their fair share” for the immense electricity load these operations require to function. The vague proposal will apparently require data centers to “pay more” for energy, or require them to provide their own energy supply. She also outlined a plan to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear energy capacity in the state – the equivalent of five new traditional large-scale nuclear reactors.

In response, Food & Water Watch’s New York state director, Laura Shindell, issued the following statement:

“Governor Hochul’s plans for a massive buildout of nuclear power and roadmap for the construction of energy-hungry data centers will drive New Yorkers’ electric bills sky-high. From both an economic and environmental perspective, Hochul’s proposals are dangerous and irresponsible. 

“As the unchecked, profit-hungy data industry seeks a foothold in our state, we are already seeing front-line communities experiencing the ballooning electricity costs and water system instability that data centers bring.Governor Hochul’s proposals raise more questions than they answer, which is why New York needs to halt new data center construction while the question of not just how, but if data centers can be operated responsibly is answered.

“Meanwhile, the proposal for 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity is a dangerous misdirection for state energy policy. Nuclear power is a foolishly expensive and antiquated approach to meeting the state’s energy demand needs. Nuclear is the most expensive power source in the country, and it is hazardous. The lessons of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima are apparently lessons Governor Hochul has yet to learn. She should be committed to building 5 gigawatts of new wind and solar power, which can be created faster, cheaper and more safely than nuclear.”

In a letter sent to Congress last month, more than 50 New York organizations called for a full national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers. The letter cites massive and unsustainable consumption by data centers of energy and water resources, and skyrocking utility costs for families and small businesses. The letter was facilitated by the national environmental organization Food & Water Watch, and signed by national and statewide groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Americans for Financial Reform, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Citizen Action of NY, NY Communities for Change, and For the Many.

Already, energy demand from data centers in the U.S. is expected to increase up to threefold between 2023 and 2028. And recent analysis from Food & Water Watch found that by 2028, data centers could consume:

• 720 billion gallons of water annually simply to cool the facilities — equal to more than 1 million Olympic-size swimming pools, or enough water to meet the indoor needs of 18.5 million American households.
• 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy annually — enough electricity to power over 28 million American households.