Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order Tuesday subjecting proposed data center projects to local approval before developers can move onto state permitting, representing her administration’s latest crackdown on the facilities after halting tax breaks earlier this summer.
Pending data centers will now need to strike community benefits agreements with host communities that align with state standards before state permitting can get underway. The executive order also blocks the use of non-disclosure agreements between state agencies and data centers to “ensure a transparent and fair approval process,” Healey’s office said.
The governor in late June paused applications for data center tax incentives, as her administration also rolled out a framework for data center development to protect public health and the environment.
The guardrails, which include expectations for securing tax breaks, stipulate that new data centers should directly procure or develop the energy resources to support their operations — without raising energy costs for ratepayers and straining the electric grid. Data centers should also be situated where sufficient water supplies, wastewater and infrastructure exists, and they must minimize air emissions. Communities should also play a “meaningful role” in project planning and development, the Healey administration said.
Under the executive order, data centers projects with peak electricity demand topping 25 megawatts must show they are adhering to the administration’s framework to secure permits. The order also creates the “Ratepayer Protection Fund,” designed to give money back to customers.
“We’d like to have data centers be able to provide their own clean energy on day one,” Healey said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “And if they can’t, then they’re going to need to pay ratepayers for the energy that they consume until their own supply is in place.”
