en.Wedoany.com Reported - Wildflower, through its subsidiary WF Industrial, has put its $1 billion data center project in Brookhaven, Long Island, New York, on hold due to two moratoriums. The project was originally planned for a 79-acre site near the village of Yaphank, with a 549,000-square-foot (51,003 square meters) facility adjacent to the north service road of the Long Island Expressway, currently used as warehousing. Upon full completion, the project would have a capacity of 176 MW and was originally scheduled to become operational in 2024.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul implemented a statewide 12-month moratorium on data center projects of 50 MW or more, causing the project to stall. Meanwhile, the Brookhaven Town Board passed an 18-month data center moratorium, effective until January 2028, during which time it will consider amending town regulations to cover digital infrastructure projects. The local moratorium was unanimously approved by board members after a five-hour public meeting on Thursday, where 60 people spoke against data centers, with approximately 300 people in attendance.

Michael Bowden, Wildflower's Director of Development, told the South Shore Press that the company is assessing the impact of the statewide moratorium but did not specify whether it would proceed with the Brookhaven project. Bowden noted that the data center would use a closed-loop water system, placing minimal strain on local resources. Wildflower is a commercial real estate developer, and the Brookhaven project is currently the only data center project listed on its website.