Western Massachusetts communities intensify opposition to proposed AI data center campuses, citing land use and power grid concerns.

Last month, amid protests from city residents, Holyoke became the first in the state to ban new data centers. Two days later, Westfield moved toward passing a one-year moratorium.

It was standing room only in Westfield City Council chambers on June 18. Residents overflowed into the hallway, hoping to hear or participate in the meeting. The City Council took its first step toward approving a one-year moratorium on data center construction—one of two votes needed to make it official—following a recommendation from the Planning Board two days prior.

Westfield's decision came just two days after Holyoke's City Council became the first in Massachusetts to effectively ban new data centers. The zoning ordinance, signed by Mayor Joshua Garcia shortly after, quashed a proposed 20-megawatt facility that developer Chestnut River Power Data Center wanted to build on Water Street.

The neighboring cities' moves reflect a sentiment spreading across the country. Explosive growth in demand for resources—primarily power and water—needed to fuel AI data centers is meeting strong local opposition. Western Massachusetts is leading that movement in the Bay State, with residents mobilizing against proposed projects both large and small.

"I want to find out whether we can just put a 100% stop to data centers, period," resident Ann Mangold told The Shoestring during the June 18 meeting. "Not just a temporary moratorium, but a stop to all."

Anne Thalheimer, Holyoke's Ward 3 city councilor and sponsor of the data-center ban, said she had been hearing the same sentiment from constituents.

"What they want is a ban. We have the opportunity to move a ban forward. There is no way that we can come out of this meeting as legislators without protection for the city," Thalheimer said during the June 16 vote. "If we do that, we are derelict in our jobs."

State leaders have noticed the discontent. A week later, Governor Maura Healey—a vocal supporter of the AI industry—announced she was halting tax breaks for data-center developers, an incentive state lawmakers had passed two years prior. This week, State Senator John Velis, D-Westfield, who co-sponsored that original tax-break bill, proposed a legislative amendment requiring data centers to cover the cost of their electricity and water consumption.

Data centers are resource-intensive. They consumed 4.4% of all U.S. electricity in 2023, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report, which projects that figure could reach 12% by 2028. Other sources suggest that estimate is conservative. On-site power plants or fossil-fuel generators emit particulate matter and greenhouse gases, while data centers require large amounts of water during construction and as part of their cooling process.

Though skeptical of moratoriums himself, Velis acknowledged constituent concerns about environmental and economic impacts. "I think there is anger, I think there's folks being upset. I think there's a whole range of emotions that are out there," he told The Shoestring.

At least 100 people rallied outside Holyoke City Hall ahead of the vote, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Signs read "Fuck AI" and "Ban data centers." Resident Iris Espada spoke before the Council in Spanish, representing what she said was the Latino majority of the city. "Do your job," she urged councilors. "Please, put in place this ban. Take your time. Investigate thoroughly. Don't make us into guinea pigs."

When Garcia signed the ban into law days later, he referenced the wave of activism. "Whether people agree or disagree with the outcome, I appreciate seeing democracy work," he said in a social media post. "One thing I have said consistently throughout my time in office is that people need to step-up and demand the expectations they want and hold each other accountable, including government."

Chestnut River Power Data Center had contacted Holyoke Gas & Electric representatives as early as December, according to communications The Shoestring obtained through a public records request. This timeline surprised many, who first learned of the proposed 20-megawatt facility during the May City Council meeting where councilors introduced the ban. Twenty megawatts represents nearly a fourth of the electricity the entire city draws at peak.

After the ban passed, Chestnut River executive Benjamin Marshall told The Shoestring the company respects "the process and the people engaging in it." "Communities deserve a clear picture of what a project actually involves—the real numbers on power, water, jobs, and tax revenue—and our job is to provide that and answer honestly. We want the conversation to be grounded in facts rather than assumptions," Marshall said. He noted that a substation near the proposed site has 25 megawatts of unused transmission potential, built when Holyoke forecasted economic growth. Marshall did not respond when asked if his company intended to contest the ban. The building remains under the ownership of Green Thumb Industries, whose planned marijuana cultivation facility never materialized.

The ban exempts the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, permitted for up to 12 megawatts of peak draw, though the facility is built to accommodate up to 15 megawatts. Current usage is "well below 15," according to an MGHPCC spokesperson, including a recent $31 million expansion for AI accelerators using 0.5 megawatts.

The ban's effect on another Holyoke facility remains unclear: a data center run by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, a federally funded defense research center. The zoning amendment makes no reference to it, explicitly exempting only MGHPCC. Though MIT is a partner to MGHPCC, Lincoln Laboratory's supercomputer—one of the most powerful run by a U.S. university—is physically separate, housed in two windowless steel "eco-pods" wedged between the same substation Chestnut River sought and the Connecticut River.

MIT Lincoln Labs did not respond to a request for comment. An MGHPCC spokesperson said they had no information about Lincoln Labs. Holyoke Gas and Electric denied a records request related to the supercomputer (The Shoestring has appealed to the state's supervisor of public records). Mayor Garcia's office was unaware of the Lincoln Laboratory site until The Shoestring directed them to it.

Unlike Holyoke's full ban, Westfield's proposed moratorium would last one year, according to At-Large City Councilor Kristen Mello, to allow the city to "work with local area experts, including professors from UMass Amherst and researchers from Harvard University" to determine "where can the city support the land use of data centers without impacting public health, drinking water, and air quality."

Westfield's moratorium also differs in that one large data center project is exempt. The city had already approved a proposal from Servistar Reality LLC to erect 10 data center buildings "expected to consist of between 18 to 42 megawatts of critical IT electric load," and therefore the project is not affected by the one-year moratorium.

Before the City Council on June 18, Servistar partner Paul Corey began to speak: "Can I ask one question?"