Mass. ballot question would put major restrictions on data centers

Detailed summary

Opponents of data center development have launched a campaign to put new restrictions before Massachusetts voters in 2028.

Opponents of data center development have launched a campaign to put new restrictions before Massachusetts voters in 2028, as a $16 billion project proposed in Sutton sharpens the debate.

The Committee to Restrict Data Centers, which filed initial paperwork with state regulators in September, announced the campaign Thursday and launched sign4restrictingdatacenters.org, where residents can pledge support for a ballot petition and request a signature form by mail.

The Kraft Group is pursuing a data center campus in Sutton that, if completed, would rank as the fourth-largest data center in the country. The proposal has drawn opposition from residents of the central Massachusetts town, adding to the unfolding national debate over AI development, electricity consumption, water use, and potential effects on utility bills.

The website urges visitors to help restrict data centers, citing concerns about increasing electric bills, water consumption and noise from equipment that can “sound like jet engines.” It also calls for local voter approval of proposed facilities. At the bottom of the site, organizers included a declaration: “No AI was used on this site.”

The committee’s proposal, designated Petition 26-08 by the attorney general’s office, would establish requirements for new data centers and expansions of existing facilities, including a two-thirds vote of approval by residents in the host community.

Under the petition, a data center could not receive a municipal permit unless its electricity supplier agreed not to shift costs onto other customers and committed to providing enough electricity from 100 percent renewable resources to meet the facility’s needs without reducing renewable energy available to others. Operators would also have to guarantee recovery of infrastructure costs if a facility closes, reduces capacity or violates its contract.

The proposal also requires water suppliers to certify that existing systems can accommodate a facility without materially affecting…

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