Massachusetts pauses tax breaks for data centers and addresses energy, water and noise concerns
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday that she's pausing tax breaks for data centers in the state and released a framework that addresses concerns about their impact on cities and towns.
"I am halting any tax incentives for data centers until we have strong protections in place for our residents and communities against higher gas and electric bills," Healey said in a statement. "Data centers can support innovation and economic growth, but if developers want to build in Massachusetts, they need to first demonstrate that they can do so without driving up costs or harming our communities."
Massachusetts passed the Qualified Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption in 2024. It gives data centers a 20-year tax exemption if they meet certain eligibility requirements, such as maintaining or creating at least 100 jobs in the state within five years of certification.
Guidelines released by Healey's administration call on data center operators to "bring your own clean energy" to meet 100% of demand and minimize or mitigate air and noise pollution. They also say that communities "should not face water scarcity and added system or infrastructure costs due to data center operations."
WBZ-TV has reached out to the Data Center Coalition for comment on Healey's announcement.
A newly released CBS News poll found that more Americans are skeptical about having a data center in their area, though they admit to not knowing much about them.
According to the website datacentermap.com, there are 42 data centers in Massachusetts. WBZ-TV recently got a look inside the largest data center in the state - the Markley data center in Lowell.
The company did not say how much electricity it uses, but ownership said it is not a drain on state resources. The center did say it uses between 60,000 and 120,000 gallons of water per day.
Neighbors refer to Markley as "the dungeon" and complain about the constant hum coming from the building. A spokesperson for the company said he thinks they're exaggerating when it comes to the noise.
