New York proposes $1M-per-megawatt fee on AI data centers

New York State's new Community Investment Framework recommends municipalities charge AI data center developers $1 million per megawatt of demand in community investment. It also advises towns to plan for facility maintenance costs and eventual site abandonment.

Why it matters: This turns generalized public pushback against data centers, already seen in Philadelphia and Scotland's moratorium, into a concrete financial template other states and towns could adopt. Broad adoption of fees like this could meaningfully raise the cost of building AI infrastructure in the US.