Key facts
- Governor Josh Shapiro's order removes data centres from Pennsylvania's Fast Track permit program and bars state agencies from signing NDAs with developers.
- Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on approvals of new data centre projects through Texas's grid interconnection process.
- Governor Kathy Hochul imposed a one-year construction moratorium on data centres using 50 megawatts or more of power.
- Governor Janet Mills vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have enacted an 18-month moratorium on data centres using more than 20 MW.
- Denmark's law, effective October 2026, replaces a first-come, first-served grid connection system and prioritises households, healthcare, industry, transport and renewable projects.
- Portugal is preparing rules requiring data centres to run on renewable energy and use cooling systems that do not compete with household and business water supplies.
Governments from New York to Amsterdam are imposing new restrictions on data-centre development, citing electricity demand, water consumption and the environmental impact of infrastructure built to support AI, Reuters reported on November 5, 2026.
In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order requiring companies setting up AI data centres to meet environmental and transparency safeguards and secure local community approval. The order, effective immediately, removes all data centres from the state's Fast Track permit program and bars offices and agencies under Shapiro's jurisdiction from signing non-disclosure agreements with data centre developers.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on approvals of new data centre projects through the state's grid interconnection process, citing concerns that a rise in electricity demand could threaten reliability. Under the directive, developers must provide more information on power demand, water use, tax incentives, ownership structures and efforts to mitigate local impacts.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul imposed a one-year construction moratorium on data centres using 50 megawatts or more of power, which the report described as the first full moratorium by a US state. During the freeze, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation will not issue new discretionary permits while officials develop standards to assess environmental impact.
Maine Governor Janet Mills vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have enacted an 18-month moratorium on new data centres using more than 20 MW. Mills said she supported a moratorium in principle but objected to the bill's failure to carve out an exception for a specific project in the Town of Jay.
Residents of Monterey Park, California, voted in June 2026 to permanently ban data centres, the report said, the first US city to do so at the ballot box, following public backlash over a planned facility.
Amsterdam imposed a one-year moratorium on new data centre developments in 2019 and in April 2025 barred new data centres or expansions in the municipality until at least 2030. The Dutch government's 2022 hyperscale ban restricts large facilities to two designated locations nationally, though Microsoft won approval in January 2026 for a project split into three towers, each individually below the size threshold.