The town of Plattsburgh, New York, held a public hearing on Thursday to discuss a proposed temporary land use moratorium for operations including AI data centers and cryptocurrency mining. The moratorium, if passed, would halt approvals for operations requiring 300 kilowatts (kW) or more for 12 months.
Plattsburgh Mayor Wendell Hughes and the common council heard from members of the public about the proposed law. As of Tuesday, reports indicated that the mayor had not approved the moratorium. The council is scheduled to hold another meeting on September 17.
Plattsburgh was one of the first jurisdictions in the United States to outright ban Bitcoin mining in response to residents' concerns about the cost of electricity. The moratorium, which was passed in 2018, lasted 18 months.
Many cryptocurrency mining companies have pivoted their operations to focus on AI and high-performance computing due to difficulties, rising power costs, and falling token prices.
