Overview
- The executive order, signed Tuesday, requires host cities and towns to approve proposed data centers before developers can apply for state permits.
- Projects must secure a community benefits agreement that meets state standards and the order bars the use of nondisclosure agreements in the approval process.
- Data centers with peak demand above 25 megawatts must show they follow the administration’s framework, which requires developers to provide or procure clean energy, protect local water supplies, and pay into a Ratepayer Protection Fund.
- The action follows Healey’s June pause on data center tax-incentive applications and a recent Massachusetts Superior Court order that halted a planned expansion at the Markley Group site in Lowell, while several towns have adopted moratoriums or bans.
- The order hands localities formal gatekeeping power, leaves existing lawsuits intact, and injects the issue into the governor’s reelection fight as states nationwide tighten rules on large AI-focused data centers.