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Massachusetts Data Center Policy

Part of Massachusetts. This page tracks state-level rules that shape every local data center decision in the state, such as Kraft Group Data Center Proposal in Sutton. Items marked unverified rest on search snippets or secondary trackers and should be checked against official records before being cited.

At a glance

  • Executive Order 658 (signed Sept. 8, 2026, effective immediately) bars state permits for new or expanded data centers over 25 MW unless the applicant shows it meets the Governor's June 25 expectations and files a community benefits agreement reviewed by the state Office of Environmental Justice and Equity.
  • "Local approval" is shorthand. The Governor and press described the order as requiring communities to say yes. The order's text does not require a municipal vote or name the town as the required signer, and does not say what happens if a town refuses to sign. Local zoning and permitting stay as they were.
  • Deadline Dec. 31, 2026: the state environmental agency must set up an alternative compliance payment for projects that fall short on clean power, and a Municipal Guidance Document for data center proposals is due the same day.
  • The state paused its data center sales tax exemption in June 2026, and a Senate moratorium amendment was withdrawn in July.
  • More than a dozen cities and towns have adopted or are weighing moratoriums, bans or special-permit bylaws; see the list below.

Executive Order 658

Title: "Establishing Requirements for Responsible Data Center Development and Operations in Massachusetts to Protect and Support Ratepayers, Communities, and the Environment." Signed by Gov. Maura Healey on Sept. 8, 2026 and in force until amended or revoked.

  • Who it covers: data centers built or expanded after Sept. 8, 2026 with peak demand over 25 MW (or an addition of 25 MW). The energy and economic development secretaries may jointly exempt facilities tied to an accredited college or university or a state-sponsored program. Press reports say existing facilities, such as the one in Lowell, are grandfathered; that is the press reading, not stated in the text.
  • Permit precondition: MassDEP, the Energy Facilities Siting Board, MEPA and other permitting agencies may not issue permits unless the applicant has shown conformance with the June 25 expectations (air quality and public health, water use, community engagement) and submitted a community benefits agreement "with key stakeholders." Applicants must consult the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity first and file its written feedback with the agreement. Non-disclosure agreements between permitting agencies and data center projects are barred.
  • Clean power: MassDEP is to develop protocols so these projects procure enough incremental new clean electricity to cover annual consumption, with an alternative compliance payment, due by Dec. 31, 2026, for shortfalls, paid into a Ratepayer Protection Fund.
  • Ratepayers: the Department of Public Utilities should keep prioritizing large-load rate schedules so other customers do not pay for upgrades serving data centers, and should direct utilities to clear speculative projects from interconnection queues. A Sept. 24, 2026 department letter asked the three electric utilities to file lists of projects over 25 MW and data center projects over 1 MW in their queues.
  • Water, emissions, reporting: MassDEP to develop water protocols; state agencies to evaluate data center emissions in the climate plan; operators over 25 MW to file annual disclosures, with a first state report due September 2027.
  • What it asks of municipalities: nothing mandatory. The state environment and economic development offices must publish a Municipal Guidance Document by Dec. 31, 2026 to help local officials, groups and residents evaluate proposals, and state agencies are to help towns that ask. The community benefits agreement gives a host town practical leverage, but that is an inference, not a stated right.
  • Open questions: Press analysis noted the agreement "needs teeth" and that grandfathering details are unclear.
  • Governor's Statement of Expectations (June 25, 2026): non-binding on its own; asks projects to bring their own clean energy for all demand, pay the full cost of energy supply and grid upgrades, protect air quality and water, and be transparent. It says it supplements, and does not replace, local zoning and permitting. EO 658 makes conformance a permit precondition for projects over 25 MW.
  • Sales tax exemption paused (June 25, 2026): the Governor paused new applications for the qualified data center sales and use tax exemption created by the Legislature in 2024 until guardrails are in place. The statute itself was not repealed, as far as found.
  • Senate moratorium amendments (July 2026): Sen. Michael Moore, whose district includes Millbury, filed amendments for a one-year moratorium and for 100% renewable power with ratepayer protection, with 13 co-signers. He withdrew them on July 23 to 24 after Senate leadership said a moratorium would not survive conference. The Governor has said she does not back a moratorium. Whether any data center provision survived in the final energy or economic development bills is unverified.
  • Large-load tariff: no dedicated state large-load tariff had been found as of Nov. 10, 2026, and the department's docket number was not located (unverified).
  • Lowell: residents are suing the state over air permits for an existing data center facility.

Cities and towns

Dates are vote dates as reported; zoning bylaws may also need Attorney General approval. Entries marked unverified rest on snippets or a third-party tracker.

  • Lowell: one-year moratorium, March 2026, reported as the first in the state; the existing facility is grandfathered.
  • Gill: one-year data center and battery moratorium, Annual Town Meeting, May 4, 2026.
  • Malden: moratorium, May 5, 2026 (details unread).
  • Mansfield: Article 23 at the May 5, 2026 Annual Town Meeting, a dedicated bylaw reported as a near-total ban.
  • Holyoke: City Council voted 9 to 4 on June 16, 2026 for a citywide ban on new data centers, exempting the existing computing center.
  • Everett: June 22, 2026 ordinance restricting, not banning, data centers in one district; see Data Center Zoning Ordinance.
  • Westfield: 12-month moratorium, July 6, 2026; in October the Planning Board refused to extend a permit for a roughly $4 billion project.
  • Agawam: 270-day moratorium, final reading Sept. 8, 2026, 11 to 0 (unverified effective date).
  • Greenfield: moratorium passed around Sept. 16, 2026.
  • Easthampton: moratorium approved (date not found).
  • Haverhill: Council voted around Oct. 27, 2026 to prohibit data centers in every zoning district.
  • Leominster: one-year moratorium on data centers and battery storage, reported through July 31, 2027 (unverified).
  • Northborough: special permit required and a 5 MW cap (unverified, date not found).
  • Southborough: April 2026 industrial park bylaw making data centers a special-permit use with size and setback limits (unverified).
  • Plymouth: Oct. 17, 2026 Town Meeting reported 149 to 0 for a one-year moratorium (unverified).
  • Southbridge: one-year moratorium (unverified date); see Data Center Temporary Moratorium.
  • Templeton: temporary moratorium (unverified).
  • Shutesbury: reported ban, with conflicting reports of whether it is permanent or expired (unverified).
  • South Hadley: moratorium dropped from the Nov. 9 special Town Meeting warrant; officials weighing a special permit requirement.
  • Sutton: no moratorium or bylaw; a proposal of about 900 MW is under review, see Kraft Group Data Center Proposal.
  • Millbury: no proposal; see Data Center Zoning Regulations.
  • Pending or unverified: Braintree (proposed one-year moratorium), Methuen, Northampton, Heath, Wilmington, and Boston, where the City Council is considering zoning to bar data centers.
  • Elsewhere in this record: Fitchburg (Data Center Zoning Moratorium), Salem (Data Centers Zoning Ordinance), Worcester (Data Center Framework and Executive Order 658), Spencer (Data Center Moratorium), Auburn (Data Center Moratorium) and Charlton (Data Center Zoning Moratorium).

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