Graded Extensive and tightening. 12 laws, orders, rulings and local actions, each with its source, reviewed 23 October 2026.
Executive Order 62 (14 Jul 2026) only directs a working group on beneficiary-pays interconnection rules; no fee, study or obligation binds yet.
Case 26-E-0045 (opened 12 Feb 2026) is still writing cost allocation rules and the 15 Sep 2026 $1 million per MW framework is voluntary.
Executive Order 62 (14 Jul 2026) holds all state discretionary permits for data centers of 50 MW or more statewide until the generic review is done.
The 2000 sales tax break stands and the 15 Sep 2026 framework only recommends $1 million per MW; the ban on breaks above 50 MW is a 2027 budget proposal.
Order 62 (14 Jul 2026) orders a 12-month review of water withdrawal rules and the framework asks for voluntary reporting and limited NDAs.
Scored on rules in force, 1 to 5. 5 is the most regulated. Pending rules set the arrow.
Executive Order 62, signed July 14, 2026, tells the environmental agency to hold discretionary permits for new or expanding data centers of 50 MW or more until the Department of Public Service finishes a statewide generic environmental impact statement. The Legislature passed a broader bill on June 4, 2026 (A11560/S10642) with a one-year permit bar at 20 MW, a separate rate class and renewable targets; as of October 10, 2026 the bill had not been delivered to the governor, so there is no signature or veto. The Public Service Commission is rewriting large-load interconnection and cost rules in Case 26-E-0045, and no utility large-load tariff has been approved yet. On September 15, 2026 Empire State Development published a voluntary host community framework recommending $1 million per MW in local payments. Towns are acting on their own: Dryden has banned data centers outright and the Towns of Tonawanda and Manlius have one-year moratoria.
Comments on the draft scope of the environmental review closed October 20, 2026; a final scope is expected next, and law firms expect the review to take up to a year after that. The DPS large-load interconnection working group has an October 30, 2026 meeting listed and no report posted, a technical conference in Case 26-E-0045 is due by December 31, 2026, and a staff white paper on large-load rules is due by February 12, 2027. The governor has said a ban on tax breaks for 50 MW-plus data centers could go in the 2027 budget. She is on the ballot on November 3, 2026, and must still sign or veto A11560 once it is sent to her. No ruling has been found in the July 2026 suit over the Stream data center at the STAMP site.
Yes. New York has a statewide pause in force as of 23 October 2026: Executive Order 62 pauses new permits. Local moratoria are also in force in Town of Manlius (Onondaga County), Town of Tonawanda (Erie County).
Tightening. New York is graded Extensive, which means a statewide halt on permits or connections, or binding rules that stop most new projects. State permits for 50 MW-plus data centers frozen pending environmental review. The outlook above says what is pending.
New York sits in NYISO. The grid operator decides how a new large load is studied, what it must bring or pay, and whether it can be curtailed first; the state decides siting, permits, tariffs and incentives.
No. New York's data center incentives were not pulled back in 2025 or 2026 as of 23 October 2026, though the items below show what is pending.
On Genloop's five-line rubric (1 least regulated, 5 most) New York scores grid connection 2, power rates 2, siting and land use 5, tax treatment 2, permits and water 2, a mean of 2.6. The most regulated line is siting and land use: Executive Order 62 (14 Jul 2026) holds all state discretionary permits for data centers of 50 MW or more statewide until the generic review is done.
12 items: each is a law, order, tariff, ruling, utility action or local decision that changes what a data center must do, pay or disclose, or where it may be built. Failed and pending measures are marked. Each links to its source.
The commission issued a draft scope for the statewide review that controls when the permit pause ends. Written comments closed October 20, 2026 and a final scope is expected next; the review is expected to take up to a year once the scope is final, and it will weigh capacity charges, bring-your-own generation or storage, curtailment and tariff changes.
Source: whitecase.comThe order also requires an interconnection working group on beneficiary-pays cost rules (formed within 60 days, report within 90), a community investment framework from the economic development agency within 60 days, a possible Grid Acceleration Fund with upfront contributions and demand response, and a 12-month review of water withdrawal rules. The framework was published September 15, 2026; the DPS Large Load and Data Center Interconnection Technical Working Group has an October 30, 2026 meeting listed and no report posted yet.
Source: dps.ny.govPublished September 15, 2026 under Executive Order 62. Voluntary guidance for localities that recommends developers contribute $1 million for every megawatt of utility demand to a locally run Community Investment Fund, pay prevailing wages and hire locally, limit nondisclosure agreements to trade secrets, and report annually on jobs, water, energy and fund payments. It does not replace SEQRA or permitting.
Source: governor.ny.govThe state's Environmental Notice Bulletin of September 30, 2026 lists the commission as lead agency and says the large-load interconnection reforms and data center build-out may have a significant environmental impact, so a generic impact statement is required.
Source: dec.ny.govThe town board voted unanimously on August 3, 2026 to stop accepting applications for a year. The target is the proposed 300 MW Riverview campus at the former Tonawanda Coke site.
Source: btpm.orgSigned July 14, 2026. The environmental agency must hold discretionary permit applications for new or expanding data centers of 50 MW or more that were not complete by that date, until the generic environmental impact statement and findings are done. Ministerial approvals and local permits are not covered; manufacturing, research, education and medical facilities are exempt.
Source: davispolk.comThe town board voted 7 to 0 on July 8, 2026 for a one-year moratorium on data processing centers and commercial cryptocurrency mining.
Source: cnycentral.comThe governor said she will seek to bar property, sales and mortgage recording tax breaks, including those granted by the state's 106 industrial development agencies, for data centers of 50 MW or more, possibly in the 2027 budget. A 2000 law still authorizes sales tax breaks for internet data centers, and the power authority sells discounted power to some.
Source: investigativepost.orgStream U.S. Data Centers proposes a 2.2 million square foot facility and asked the county development agency for about $1.46 billion in state and local sales tax breaks. The Tonawanda Seneca Nation, the Sierra Club and a resident sued on July 13, 2026 over the site's 2012 incentive zoning deal, and on July 10 the environmental agency demanded an updated wetlands delineation and a noise study before considering stormwater permit coverage. Whether the Executive Order 62 pause reaches those approvals was unresolved; no ruling in the suit was found as of October 23.
Source: investigativepost.orgPassed both houses on June 4, 2026 (Senate 43 to 17). It would bar new state environmental permits for data centers of 20 MW or more for one year, require separate electric, gas and water rate classes by June 1, 2030, and set renewable supply targets of one third by 2030 rising to 90 percent by 2040 for sites of 5 MW or more. As of October 10, 2026 the bill page shows it has not been delivered to the governor, so there is no signature or veto and the clock for her to act has not started.
Source: nysenate.govIn February 2026 the town amended its zoning code to prohibit data centers and cryptocurrency mining, after more than a year under a temporary moratorium. Town officials called it the first such ban in the state.
Source: wskg.orgOpened February 12, 2026 to carry out the governor's Energize NY Development plan: new interconnection, cost allocation and tariff rules so data centers pay the costs they cause. A technical conference is due by December 31, 2026 and a staff white paper by February 12, 2027. Nearly 12 GW of new load was in the grid operator's queue in February 2026.
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