Senate Finance reviews bill to pause large AI data-center builds, orders study of grid and water impacts

Montpelier — The Senate Finance committee on Friday reviewed S.205, a bill that would bar operation, site preparation or construction of large AI-focused data centers in Vermont until July 1, 2030, and direct the Public Utility Commission to study the facilities’ likely energy, water and environmental impacts.

Sponsor Senator White told the committee she introduced the bill as a “common sense pause” while the state develops rules to avoid a patchwork of local responses. "A single large AI data center could use up to 5,000,000 gallons of fresh water per day," White said, and such centers can demand electricity on a scale that, she warned, could strain municipal systems and raise costs for other ratepayers.

The bill defines an AI data center, for the purposes of the moratorium, as a facility that requires more than 100 megawatts of new load dedicated to AI inference,…