Essay by Eric Worrall
Hochul: “… They drive up costs for local ratepayers, and I refuse to let those costs get passed down to New Yorkers …”
New York becomes first U.S. state to impose AI data center ban
PUBLISHED TUE, JUL 14 20261:39 PM EDTUPDATED TUE, JUL 14 20262:49 PM EDT
Paxton Honerkamp…
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed an executive order barring the construction of new large-scale data centers using 50 megawatts or more of power for up to one year, making the Empire State the first state in the nation to impose such a ban.
“We’re in the midst of one of the most significant economic upheavals in generations … perhaps ever,” the governor said, announcing the executive order in New York City. “These hyperscale AI data centers consume enormous amounts of power, truly threatening to outpace our grid’s capacity,” she added. “They drive up costs for local ratepayers, and I refuse to let those costs get passed down to New Yorkers.”
Hochul’s sentiment echoes that of many state residents and environmental leaders, who have heavily scrutinized hyperscaler data centers on the basis of their excessive consumption of power and natural resources, particularly fresh water.
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Many, however, voiced their dissatisfaction, claiming that the moratorium would hinder New York’s — and the United States’ – ability to compete in a rapidly expanding technological field.
“A statewide moratorium is the wrong answer to the right questions,” New York State Assemblyman Scott Gray, a Republican, and three of his colleagues wrote in a letter to the governor in June opposing data center moratoriums. “It freezes investment, takes decisions away from the communities that should be making them and duplicates or ignores work the governor’s own administration already has underway.”
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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/14/new-york-ai-data-center-ban.html
New York is right to fear the impact of AI on energy prices and availability – but only because of their policy of self inflicted green energy sabotage.
This decision to prioritise ideology over prosperity will further cement New York’s decline as a center of global finance.
Serious financial trading companies spare no expense when it comes to specialised software to help them gain a market advantage. AI is just the latest innovation in a long history of massive financial market investment in technology. But in a trading environment where milliseconds matter, traders need their automated systems to be located physically as close as possible to the exchanges where the trades are being executed.
Co-Location: How Close Can You Get?
The rise of co-location services offered by stock exchanges is a response to firms trying to minimize their remote connectivity and instead place their trading logic closer to the markets.
In the early days, firms would place systems in third-party facilities as close as possible to the exchanges’ own sites.
Today, exchanges allow customers to use their own data centers, in the interest of creating a level playing field, so firms are able to place equipment meters from the exchange systems.“Almost all exchanges are now offering so-called co-location services, whereby the servers of the participants are co-located in the data center of the exchange and in the immediate physical vicinity of the exchange’s matching engine(s),” said Philip Enness, director of markets infrastructure at IBM. “The link between the servers is optimized through the use of infiniband technology, thus achieving the lowest possible latency for the participants.”
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Read more: https://www.marketsmedia.com/co-location-how-close-can-you-get/
Hochul’s new regulation stands squarely in the way of how financial traders want to conduct their business. How can New York possibly continue to be a center of global finance, if traders aren’t allowed to operate the energy intensive tools they need to remain competitive?
Thankfully Texas may be on the brink of offering an attractive alternative to trading on the increasingly unfriendly New York Stock Exchange.
Texas Stock Exchange officially opens
Bethany Blankley
July 8, 2026(The Center Square) – The Texas Stock Exchange officially opened Monday, fulfilling a longtime goal of Gov. Greg Abbott, who’s championed Texas leading the financial industry.
Based in Dallas, it opened at 8:30 a.m. Monday to members, including approved broker-dealers, banks and trading firms. Trades are test stocks only. Throughout the month, a phased rollout of symbols for thousands of stocks and equities are coming online, allowing members of the public to trade.
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Live trading begins Friday, July 10.
…With more businesses relocating their headquarters and operations to Texas, financial firms expanding their operations in Dallas, and the expected growth of the TXSE, the goal is for Dallas to become a national financial hub, Abbott and TXSE leaders say.
This includes providing a superior alternative to the New York Stock Exchange, which has embraced policies problematic for shareholders including so-called Environmental, Social, Governance and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies, critics of the NYSE argue.
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/texas-stock-exchange-officially-opens-164400647.html
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How is Texas dealing with balancing community concerns about the negative impact of data centers with their desire to encourage investment?
Hundreds of data centers are coming to Texas. Here’s what you need to know
Texas is experiencing an AI-driven data center boom with at least 248 projects planned statewide. Here’s what to know about the industry’s rapid growth and the debate over its impact.
Alejandra Martinez, Texas Tribune | Posted On June 26, 2026, 8:39 AM
In the span of a couple years, hundreds of massive electricity- and water-hungry data centers have proposed construction in Texas — a veritable gold rush for those capitalizing on the sudden demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
There are at least 248 data center projects planned across the state, according to a Texas Tribune recent analysis.
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Gov. Greg Abbott recently moved from calling Texas an “epicenter” of AI development to announcing he would make regulating the industry a priority for state lawmakers during the 2027 legislative session.
…Why are data centers coming to Texas?
Texas has been a magnet for developers because of the cheap land, available power, fiber lines and, importantly, its lack of local business restrictions.
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Texas has shifted from aggressively courting data centers to tightening oversight. In June, Gov. Greg Abbott directed public utilities to ensure that the infrastructure costs required to construct and serve data centers are not passed on to its customers. He also released sweeping regulatory recommendations on data centers, including repealing data center sales tax exemptions — that costs the state more than a billion dollars a year — and “other outdated or unnecessary incentives for data centers.”
State leaders and the grid operator, ERCOT, are revising its planning and approval process to keep pace with requests from data centers trying to connect to the electrical grid. The agency is implementing stricter vetting for massive energy projects.
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Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/technology/2026/06/26/555637/texas-data-center-guide-what-you-need-to-know/
Seems sensible to me – working to facilitate billions of dollars of high paying jobs and investment, while working to minimise the negative impacts on Texan communities.
Given the obvious Texan enthusiasm for taking up the torch of being the USA’s premier industrial, investment and financial center, and the stampede of major companies which are relocating to Texas and Florida, I can’t help thinking New York City and New York State might be on the brink of learning a hard lesson on what happens to jurisdictions which take their wealth creators for granted, or which place green ideology ahead of prosperity.
Given regulatory instability in China, and long term declines in activity on major European based trading exchanges like London and Frankfurt, energy rich and business friendly Texas has a real chance of becoming the premier global financial center if they play their cards right.
Some day New York will realise what their obstructionism and green intransigence has cost them. But by then it will be too late.
And then Gov. Hochul proceeded to shoot herself in the other foot. What jobs NY state rejects will go to Texas or Florida….
Progressives most dominant trait is being against progress. These clueless idiots have no idea how anything works in the real world.
This ^
I looked at a parallel situation – the UK – and researched the number of qualified Engineers in the British cabinet, and then the number who are science qualified.
Lo and behold . . . not a single member of the British Labour cabinet is a qualified engineer, and the only person with a science background is the complete and utter idiot who provided so-called scientific advice to the Tory British government during the Covid-19 complete shambles.
Any surprise the UK accelerates towards economic and cultural collapse?
Is anybody making plans to ensure this utterly pathetic situation is reversed?
Of course not . . . is the answer to both questions.
The medical advice was excellent, best public health cross-infection prevention medical practice and failed because the Chinese bioweapon design made it more contagious than measles and less lethal than they had intended as it got out of the lab before they finished making it a worse killer than it was already.
The pandemic was and is a real killer.
The climate crisis is false, fake and not science.
Intelligent people learn to distinguish between things which are very different from each other. We rapidly learned about the virus and changed behaviour, the same did not and has not yet happened with the fake climate crisis.
Sorry, but you’re wrong about COVID. Yes, it was lethal, but no more than the seasonal flu. It’s likely that medical intervention (ventilators, untested MRNA shots, etc.) caused more deaths than the virus, although we may never get full data on that. Besides all of that, the rational response to a pandemic is to quarantine the sick and protect the vulnerable. Instead, we attempted to quarantine the healthy. There was no reason to believe that approach would work, and there’s currently no evidence that it helped at all. Allowing healthy people to go about their lives, potentially get infected, and develop immunity would probably have gotten us through the situation much faster and with less economic or public health impact
They are radicals, not progressives.
Progressives are those that wish to progress away from the constitution. Radicals just want chaos and anarchy.
“They are radicals, not progressives.”
Those two labels are synonymous.
Language is being massacred. Progress is now meaningless as it has lost its connection with the core meaning “change for the good” or “beneficial change”. “Progressives” seem to advocate change for change sake.
Many, many things we do are tried and tested by centuries of Western civilisation allowing free contest in the marketplace of ideas.
It is a waste of time and effort and money to reinvent the wheel and all the other like idiocy.
The only intelligent and moral stance for mature adults is to keep to the tried and tested – be conservative in much – and be ready to experiment with change if the current conditions are suboptimal or regressive or no longer fit for purpose.
“Progressives” seem to advocate change for change sake.”
Actually, they are regressives who oppose human development and have no idea how positive change can happen because they allowed ideology to replace any understanding of how cause and effect works in the real world.
I attended our monthly county Republican Party meeting last week and observed strenuous opposition among rank and file party members against AI data centers.
The consensus among them is that AI data centers are stealing our white collar jobs, they are stealing our electricity, and they are not promoting long-term job growth in the local community.
This appears to be what rank-and-file Republicans think about AI data centers. It is not just Democrats and independents who oppose them.
Isn’t that the trope China has been funding as a means of blocking AI datacenters in the US?
Yes, propaganda can affect people across the political spectrum.
A very good example is human-caused climate change. Republicans get duped over that, too.
They’re nuts. Banning data centers locally does not prevent others from building. The data center does not have to be in your back yard to take your job.
We saw that with the introduction of personal computers, and the internet, and many others.
Perhaps yes. Perhaps no. We cannot stop the experiment from being conducted.
Not to worry, the data centers and power generation projects in TX, AR, MS, TN, and OK will be more than adequate and huge. Let gemini help you by listing and describing them in the 30 seconds it takes AI to do that.
Oh, and Louisiana
And Virginia may soon flirt with the same policy. The recent kerfuffle between the state Senate and the House (both with Democrat majorities) over data center taxes is just the beginning.
Ingenuity, discovery, adaptation & ambition are natural traits that humans have evolved to possess and apply.
And as nature does with every thing on Earth, it’s always working to replace the current versions of species with a version that’s more advanced.
We’re just a Rube Goldberg “perpetual motion” type experiment for nature.
AI is just another brick in the wall.
“AI” is NOT human and has NO human traits
Story Tip
Storms leave China in solar disarray.
https://www.climatedepot.com/2026/07/16/boasted-to-survive-category-4-typhoon-chinas-1-5b-offshore-solar-farm-destroyed-overnight/
Somebody wasn’t thinking ahead, were they.
I wonder if they will try to replace it?
Very interesting. And I watched the 20 minute video which provides a good overview of china solar projects and manufacturing issues.
At least it will be easy to clean up, just let the tide take the debris off shore.
What about data centers which provide their own power? I know Bill Gates has invested heavily in nuclear power, specifically TerraPower which is an SMR manufacturer. Or will Hochul still ban them even though they won’t be adding any load to the electrical grid? (I’m thinking that she will…just because.)
I heard Charles Payne on Fox News Channel talking about this and ridiculing Governor Hochul.
Hochul claims Data Centers are the reason for high electricity prices but Charles ridicules the idea saying New York State has nine data centers and electricity is at 30cents, while Virginia has 400 Data Centers and their electricity rate is 17 cents.
Charles says Hochul is trying to lay the blame for windmills and solar raising electric rates off on Data Centers.
Charles also says we are going to need thousands of Data Centers, and since they are required to provide their own electrical power, Data Centers will not increase the customers’ costs.
Here in Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown is running for Senate again after being ousted by John Husted 6 years ago. One of his commercials is trying to blame electricity cost on Husted because of Data Centers. I guess he forgot about Obama’s and Auto-Pen’s support for wind and solar in Ohio which he also supported. What a slimeball!
(He has another set of revolting commercials against Husted where he never mentions his own inaction or support for things he’s trying to blame on Husted when he was actually in office.)
I came to the same conclusion.
Let the battle begin : Artificial Intelligence against genuine stupidity.
Artificial
Intelligencestupidity against genuine stupidity.Hmm. Perhaps Governor Hochul should gather some data before making such ignorant statements.
The price of electricity in the county where I was raised in western NY is currently about $0.24 per kilowatt-hour at the plug, all taxes, fees and whatnot included. Number of data centers in this county, zero. Number of data centers in NY State, 130. Are the data centers causing the high cost of electricity? No, New York has a vigorous renewables push with lots of windmills and solar panels, their subsidies, and the cost to integrate their electricity into local grids is high because of the need for backup power, lots of power lines and added machinery to regulate voltage and frequency to within requirements. One system for the price of two, plus more!
The price of electricity in Calvert County, Maryland where I now live, currently $0.18 per kilowatt-hour at the plug. Number of data centers, zero but two are in planning stages with some opposition. The 18 cents is about the national average but its up from 2020 by about 50%. Why? Windmills and solar panels, certainly not data centers.
The price of electricity in Loudoun County, Virginia that hosts around 300 data centers, the most of any US county, about $0.13 per kilowatt-hour. Why is it so low? Because the data centers create a large steady demand which the local utility is pleased to meet and can do so, very profitably. The centers also provide about 1/2 of the County governments income. But the price will soon increase because Virginia recently elected a Democratic Governor to replace the previous Republican. The new Governor has vowed to build lots of windmills and solar panels. Fifteen cents, 20, 30, 40, count on it!
That’s what the “Zero” in “Net Zero” means…
There is a simple solution. The data centers are only allowed to be turned on when there is a surplus of electricity. When there is a shortage of electricity, the data centers must be turned off.
https://ieefa.org/resources/projected-data-center-growth-spurs-pjm-capacity-prices-factor-10
No the simple solution is to provide more power supply to meet energy demands, be it in NY State via proved sources, including nukes, hydrocarbons, or hydroelectric from the Niagara River. The local power company in this state can’t even provide additional power to supply new home construction near me, let alone support data center development, because of our state’s moronic energy policy for the last 20 years-to wit: Promote rationing of reliable and inexpensive traditional power sources by mandating solar and wind and shutting down nuke plants. Sadly, the state government will be reelected for eternity supported by almost all Democrats and just enough dimwitted Republicans.
The “plug” isn’t the problem. The problem is the unreliable sources some states have embraced to power the “plug”.
PJM’s capacity prices are soaring ’cause ain’t nobody allowed to build any.
You could offer a deal like part time electricity. But with jurisdictions like China, India and states like Texas allowing all the cheap 24×7 electricity you can use, I don’t think you would get many takers.
An interesting side note. In the 1980s I had a patient who had been part of a company named Quotron which was at the time based in Culver City Calif.
What they did was develop computer program(s) to be used by the NY Stock exchange for trading. (Of course this was very early in computer history).
The plan was to lease both the programs and the computers to the NYSE.
Early in the company history each member of the company put up money to buy shares to keep the company afloat. My patient bought 1500 shares at 10 cents/share and others did similar.
The company thrived because the NYSE bought in to the program being offered. (The NYSE had apparently tried developing programs but failed).
Anyway the stock went to $128/share.
Citibank then bought the company and promptly ran it into the ground(bankruptcy).
Governor Hochel and New York City in particular should take a long hard look at the history of Detroit, Michigan. Here it is in a nutshell:
Detroit peaked as a modern, prosperous city in the mid-20th century (around 1950) and began a long decline that accelerated from the late 1950s/1960s onward, becoming starkly evident by the 1970s–1980s and culminating in bankruptcy in 2013.
Peak Prosperity
Timeline of Decline
The city has seen some downtown revitalization and population stabilization/gains in recent years, but many neighborhoods remain challenged.
Main Reasons (Interconnected)
In short, Detroit’s fall wasn’t sudden but a decades-long “fiscal death spiral” from industrial restructuring, population loss, and governance challenges that compounded each other. It went from embodying American industrial optimism to a symbol of urban decline
The particulars may vary, but the ongoing saga of New York City is eerily similar. The city and city government is becoming dominated by foreign nationals, both legal and illegal. The city is intentionally becoming hostile to business, industry, essential services such as grocery stores, and rental housing. It is intentionally driving up the cost of living through its reckless climate change policies. It is taxing businesses and the rich out of the city. It is allowing rampant crime without legal justice and an increasing homeless population. The viewpoint of an outside observer, NYC appears to be well along the way of its own death spiral.
Better look again at the massive UAW strike in the 70s. Omission of that is rather glaring.
Yeah, but look at all the green spaces they’ve added since leveling some of the blighted areas.
I wonder how much the trees and grass pay in taxes.
In 1960 the US population was 179.3M and jobs were at 68.7M (38.31% employed)
In 1970 the US population was 203.2M and jobs were at 78.5M (38.63% employed)
In 1980 the US population was 226.5M and jobs were at 90.5M (39.95% employed)
In 1990 the US population was 248.7M and jobs were at 109.4M (43.98% employed)
In 2000 the US population was 281.4M and jobs were at 129.7M (46.09% employed)
In 2010 the US population was 308.7M and jobs were at 130.4M (42.24% employed)
In 2020 the US population was 331.4M and jobs were at 139.1M (41.97% employed)
In 2025 the US population was 341.8M and jobs were at 163.6M (47.87% employed)
Detroit might be slightly worse off WRT the auto industry but overall the Nation today is better off employment wise than it ever has been.
Of the hundreds of existing or planned data centers in Texas, at least half generate or plan to generate their own power on site, sometimes called behind the meter (BTM). The vast majority will be using natural gas fired generators, and most will likely be combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants.
Weren’t we told solar and wind are cheaper?
How can these data centers not be run solely on them 😉
You could/should say the same about taxes.
Why ban them. Just require them to build their own “renewable” energy power supply like Australia has. They will walk away with their green caps in their greasy hands and go look for places with low cost energy source.
Latrobe Valley in Victoria Australia will eventually become the main AI data centre in the world. It has the lowest cost fuel source in the world. Long horizon investors will be locking in real estate in the Latrobe Valley. Maybe even buy a few First Nation Australians who can claim mineral rights over the land.
You never have to wait long for government to reinforce your lack of faith in them.
When you don’t plan for economic growth, you plan economic stagnation.
The fallacy of imposition: My constituents clearly all want AI cloudiness but the barrier to my sunny fantasy can naff off elsewhere.
The cynic in me says: who cares about bankers not getting a new toy? The sceptic in me then counters: but the bankers are just flies on the meat, many others much more worthy will rely on the technology. Bye bye NYC, the Big Apple has been poisoned by the Green Witch.