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AI Data Centers Want Buffalo’s Power. Residents Say No. | The Public Good Podcast
| Date: | November 10, 2026 |
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Proposed and operating data centers in Erie and Niagara counties would demand about 2 gigawatts of electricity. That is more than all of the homes in both counties use combined. These facilities bring noise, heavy water use, and emissions, but very few permanent jobs. Across Western New York, residents are asking who this build-out is really for.
In the latest episode of The Public Good podcast, Bridge Rauch of the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York joined PPG Director Andrea Ó Súilleabháin to explain what is being proposed locally and what communities can do about it. Rauch said data centers have grown from small computer rooms on college campuses into industrial-scale AI and cryptocurrency operations. “We just haven’t built the regulatory structure for this,” they said.
One proposal would put a 300 megawatt data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site. The computing users have not been identified publicly. More than 200 people attended a Tonawanda planning board meeting where the project was not even on the agenda. They spoke against the data center and in favor of renewable power. “I have never seen 200 people come to a Wednesday night planning board meeting where an item wasn’t even on the agenda,” Rauch said.
Jobs were a major point in the conversation. Rauch said permanent positions at large data centers number around 200 at most, and about a dozen at small ones. Most are roles like security and groundskeeping. By comparison, they said, Ford’s large Detroit-area plant uses about 750 megawatts and employs roughly 7,000 people. PPG and Clean Air both argue that data centers should not receive public subsidies.
State and local rules are still catching up. The Responsible Data Center Development Act, passed by the Legislature this spring, would put a one-year moratorium on facilities of 20 megawatts or larger. Governor Hochul’s July executive order covers projects of 50 megawatts and up. That leaves a gap that local governments can fill. Buffalo’s Common Council is expected to consider a two-year moratorium on facilities of 20 megawatts or larger. The intent is to use that time to convene a commission and develop zoning rules with resident input. Clean Air is also working with an AmeriCorps member on a model zoning ordinance that towns, villages, and cities across New York can adapt.
How to take action:
- Join the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York: https://www.cacwny.org/
- Contact your council members and ask them to support a moratorium and local zoning protections.
- Urge Governor Hochul to sign the Responsible Data Center Development Act.
- Submit comments to the Public Service Commission on the draft scope of its environmental impact statement.
Listen to the full episode: