At least three New Hampshire lawmakers are preparing legislation that would impose new limits on data centers, including competing proposals for a statewide moratorium when the General Court returns in 2027.
The early bill requests were submitted to the state Office of Legislative Services as lawmakers begin preparing for the next session. Only one of the three lawmakers currently has a challenger, and a proposal filed before the election could be taken up by another legislator if its sponsor is not reelected.
The proposals follow a legislative session in which a collection of measures addressing artificial-intelligence data centers failed to advance. The early filings reflect different approaches to a pause on new facilities, including differences over how long a moratorium would last and what requirements would apply afterward.
A proposed pause
Gov. Kelly Ayotte has also called for a moratorium. She said in September that she would support a pause after proposed data-center developments in Nottingham and Bow drew public opposition. Ayotte said she would include a moratorium proposal in the next biennial state budget, which is scheduled for completion in summer 2027.
“years”
Ayotte used the word while describing the length of the pause she would support, according to reporting by New Hampshire Public Radio. She has said the moratorium should last for years. The governor is seeking reelection, and Democrat Cinde Warmington has criticized her for not acting sooner, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.
One preliminary site mentioned in connection with a possible project is a former coal-fired power plant in Bow. Town officials have said the property is under preliminary consideration for a data-center development. The proposals now being prepared would address the statewide rules governing such facilities rather than deciding the future of a particular site.
Electricity and community concerns
Artificial-intelligence data centers use computer chips known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, to perform many tasks at the same time. Those chips require more electricity and generate more heat than the central processing units used in smaller, conventional data centers. The facilities have prompted debate over their demands on electricity and water systems as communities consider whether and how to host them.
New Hampshire lawmakers are considering the issue as other states examine similar restrictions. More than a dozen states are weighing data-center moratoriums, and New York adopted a one-year ban this summer, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin. The early New Hampshire proposals differ in their duration, conditions and plans for regulating facilities after any pause ends.
- At least three lawmakers have requested assistance drafting data-center legislation for the 2027 session.
- Ayotte has said she will seek a moratorium through the next biennial budget.
- Nottingham and Bow proposals have faced public opposition, while a former coal plant in Bow is under preliminary consideration as a possible site.
The proposals remain preliminary bill requests. Their sponsors, requirements and prospects could change before legislation is formally introduced in the General Court.
