A statewide tour aimed at stopping data center expansion in New York is visiting Geneva Monday to push for Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Responsible Data Center Development Act.
Activists and community leaders with NY Fights AI Data Centers will gather to discuss development around Seneca Lake and the concerns people face.
They say that while Gov. Hochul’s executive order placing a temporary moratorium on large-scale data centers is a positive step, but policy gaps remain in addressing environmental and community impacts the act would cover. The act passed both chambers of the state legislature in June.
The data center development on Seneca Lake involves what was formerly known as the Greenidge Generation cryptocurrency mining facility. The company announced earlier this month that it was changing its name from Greenidge Generation Holdings to Vulcan Infrastructure and Power and would begin pursuing data center opportunities.
The plant, located in Dresden, was built as a coal-fired power plant in the 1930s. It was eventually converted to natural gas and expanded to house crypto-mining servers in recent years.
Environmental advocates have been railing against the Greenidge Generation facility for years, alleging the operation works against the state’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After a lengthy legal battle, the facility reached an agreement last year with the state Department of Environmental Conservation that would allow the cryptocurrency mining facility to move forward with a controversial Title V air permit renewal.