Data center developers in Massachusetts must secure local approval before the state will issue permits, under an executive order Gov. Maura Healey signed Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Executive Order 658 bars the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), the Energy Facilities Siting Board and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office from advancing permits for data centers with peak electricity demand above 25 megawatts. Developers must first file a community benefits agreement with their host community and show they meet the state's Data Center Framework, published June 25, according to the Marblehead Independent.
The order took effect immediately, the Boston Herald reported.
"Unless a community says yes to a data center, we are saying no," Healey said at a State House news conference. "We're giving communities a voice and laying out the rules for what needs to happen in Massachusetts."
No data center proposals are pending in Needham or Dedham. But data centers tend to cluster near population centers with strong grid access, according to an April 6 WBUR report. That profile fits the Route 128 and Route 1 corridors running through both towns, making the order relevant to future zoning and development decisions here.
What the order requires
The community benefits agreement must meet standards set by the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity, which published its guidelines in March. That office alone decides whether an agreement qualifies.
The order also creates a Ratepayer Protection Fund. Data centers that do not cover their own electricity costs must pay into the fund. MassDEP must set up the payment system by Dec. 31.
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said data centers should pay their own way. She said ratepayers in other states have footed the bill and that it "won't be acceptable in Massachusetts."
State agencies are also banned from signing non-disclosure agreements with data center developers during permitting, Patch reported.
Statewide pushback
The order follows months of resistance across Massachusetts. Westfield and Lowell have each adopted one-year moratoriums on new data centers, and Holyoke has banned them outright, according to Boston.com. In Lowell, some residents saw electric bills jump more than 50 percent, according to floor remarks by state Sen. Vanna Howard during debate on the Senate's energy affordability bill, S. 3166. A Middlesex Superior Court judge last month temporarily blocked installation of four diesel backup generators at a Lowell data center after residents sued.
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance criticized the order in a statement, arguing that Healey's administration has diminished local authority over solar and battery storage projects while championing it for data centers.
What's ahead
The state must publish guidance by Dec. 31 to help municipalities evaluate data center proposals and negotiate with developers, according to Mass Lawyers Weekly. The first annual report to the governor under the order is due in September 2027.
An expansion adding 25 megawatts or more to an existing facility triggers the same requirements. Colleges, universities, medical providers and state-sponsored programs may seek a waiver from the threshold.
Neither the Needham Select Board nor the Dedham Select Board has publicly responded to the order. The Dec. 31 municipal guidance deadline is when both towns will get state tools to evaluate any future data center proposals.
