Data Centers

The executive order comes two years after Healey said she plans to make Massachusetts into a hub for development of AI technology, but one expert says it's too early to say whether the two efforts will conflict with each other.

Trumbull's only data center, located at 80 Merritt Blvd., has been in operation for more than 50 years and is expected to be converted into a "high density, AI-ready" facility.

The one-year moratorium would give town officials time to potentially permanently modify zoning rules.

The moratorium, which Ayotte said would be included in her next state budget proposal, would not take effect until July 2027 at the earliest.

Residents argue that the installation of new diesel generators would pollute the surrounding community.

The residents are expected to argue that state environmental regulators violated the law and their statutory authority when they allowed the Markley data center to add more diesel generators on the property.