On Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healy signed an executive order requiring that any data center projects in the commonwealth obtain a community benefits agreement with the host municipality before state agencies can issue any permits or authorizations. It comes as a number of municipalities consider or have already authorized temporary or permanent moratoriums on data center construction. The order, which also directs the Department of Environmental Protection to set additional requirements for data center projects with peak electricity demand exceeding twenty-five megawatts, is a noticeable shift for an administration which has pushed for the expansion of artificial intelligence throughout the government and follows the governor’s decision in June to pause a tax incentive program for data centers.
In recognition of the rapid growth of the data center moratorium movement and the relationship between generative artificial intelligence and data center growth, MAIRN is now tracking local data center moratoriums in Massachusetts.
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