The state is giving local governments time to catch up to the AI data center boom. It’s up to locals to take advantage.
On Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order that would require local approval for data-center projects before any necessary state licensing could begin.
The move is aimed at keeping data-center developers from running roughshod over local authorities during what has become a nationwide building boom. Most Massachusetts communities are scrambling to write their own regulations surrounding the sprawling centers, which can create jobs while being built but put a severe strain on resources once they are in place. And backed by big money, they are often in place before local leaders can understand the long-term consequences.
Healey’s executive order should buy those communities time to decide what they want.
“Unless a community says yes to a data center, we’re saying no,” Healey said at a press conference Tuesday.
Under the executive order, proposed data centers must reach community benefits agreements with host municipalities before any state permitting can begin. Non-disclosure agreements between state agencies and data centers would be banned to “ensure a transparent and fair approval process,” Healey said.
“Massachusetts doesn’t have many large data centers that they have in other states,” she said Tuesday. “But that’s exactly why we need to act now, before these projects become widespread and before it becomes far harder to protect our communities, our electric grid and our environment.”
Data centers have come under increasing scrutiny nationally as artificial intelligence has inserted itself into every corner of everyday life. AI products require large amounts of computing power to train and operate, leading companies such as Oracle, Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft to spend more than $700 billion on data centers in this year alone.
But those data centers – there are about 50 in Massachusetts – require a massive amount of resources, from space to electricity to water, leaving many communities wondering what would be left for residents once they are built.
That hasn’t gone lost in Essex County communities like Methuen, which is considering a proposal from Mayor D.J. Beauregard to place a moratorium on the centers in the city.
“Data centers are expanding rapidly across the country, and communities are increasingly being asked to confront the significant demands these facilities can place on electricity, water and other public infrastructure,” Beauregard said.
Peabody officials also are having similar discussions, hoping to get their own set of regulations in place before the centers proliferate.
Other municipalities should be following suit. The siting of the centers is a community-wide decision, one that requires that all voices be heard. The governor’s executive order paves the way for those conversations. It’s up to local officials to make sure they happen.
The giant companies behind AI like to tout it as inevitable. And in a way, it is: It’s already part of our daily lives. But that doesn’t mean we have given up our power to regulate its use, and to decide what effect it will have on our lives and the lives of our neighbors. Leaders in places like Methuen understand that.
“The goal of this ordinance isn’t to say ‘no’ to economic development,” Beauregard said. “We should welcome investment that creates jobs, strengthens our tax base, and benefits our community. But we also have a responsibility to protect our residents and taxpayers from developments that could drive up costs or place unreasonable demands on our infrastructure and natural resources.”