Western New York's Data Center and Power Buildout: Where the Major Projects Stand in October 2026

October 12, 2026

Server racks inside a data center | Westside Construction Group

Western New York has the ingredients that data center developers want: hydropower from the Niagara River, former power plant and industrial sites with existing grid connections, and land. In 2026 the region has had two very different sides. Projects that already held their permits kept building and energizing, while new proposals ran into a statewide permit pause, local moratoria and lawsuits. At the same time, the generation and grid projects that will serve all of this new load are moving through construction.

This roundup covers where the major data center and power projects in the region stand as of October 12, 2026, and links to our earlier coverage of each.

The Rules: A State Permit Pause and Local Moratoria

Any data center project in New York now has to account for Executive Order 62, signed July 14, 2026. For data centers of 50 megawatts or more, it directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to hold discretionary permit applications in abeyance until the Department of Public Service finishes a Generic Environmental Impact Statement on data centers. Applications DEC had already deemed complete are not paused, local permits are not covered, and facilities used mainly for manufacturing, research, education or medical care are excluded Governor's Office. We covered the order and what followed in our October 7 update on the permit pause.

The Legislature's bill: the Responsible Data Center Development Act, which passed in June and would impose a one-year pause on facilities of 20 megawatts or more, had not been signed or vetoed as of mid-July, and we have found no later action Hodgson Russ.
Community investment: Empire State Development's Community Investment Framework, released September 15, recommends $1 million in community investment per megawatt of utility demand and calls for prevailing wage on construction Governor's Office.
Power supply: the Public Service Commission is developing rules under which data centers would supply their own power or pay a premium for grid power, and the Governor is seeking repeal of data center sales tax exemptions FingerLakes1.
Local action: Buffalo's Common Council has advanced a two-year moratorium with a nine-member task force to draft zoning rules, but a local law still needs a final vote Spectrum News (our coverage). The West Seneca Town Board passed a one-year moratorium 4-0 that runs to late August 2027 Spectrum News. South Bristol in Ontario County holds a hearing tonight on a proposed permanent zoning ban FingerLakes1 (our coverage).

Data Centers

TeraWulf Lake Mariner, Town of Somerset, Niagara County

Lake Mariner is the region's most active data center jobsite, built on the site of a former coal plant. TeraWulf reported 81 megawatts of revenue-generating critical IT capacity at the end of June, rising to 102 megawatts after its CB-3 building was delivered in early July TeraWulf.

Under construction: another 336 megawatts across two buildings, CB-4 and CB-5. The first CB-4 data hall was in commissioning in August, with phased delivery in the second half of 2026, and CB-5 is targeted to begin phased delivery in early 2027 TeraWulf.
Cost: TeraWulf says the buildout is running within its guidance of $8 million to $10 million per critical IT megawatt TeraWulf.
Next: the company is pursuing another 250 megawatts of power capacity in New York, subject to interconnection approval TeraWulf.
Permit pause: the expansion is fully permitted, so the July executive order does not affect it The Block.

TeraWulf is also developing Lake Hawkeye at the former Cayuga power plant in Lansing, Tompkins County. The company says the 183-acre site could support about 400 megawatts gross, with operations not expected until around 2029 TeraWulf. Our earlier Lake Mariner post covers the start of the expansion.

Stream Data Centers at STAMP, Town of Alabama, Genesee County

The largest proposal in the region is a $19.46 billion, multi-building data center by Stream U.S. Data Centers at the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park The Batavian. Earlier reporting described three buildings totaling 2.2 million square feet and 500 megawatts, with about $1.46 billion in requested incentives Investigative Post.

Plan changes: as of mid-September, Stream was revising site entrances to stay out of a 100-foot wetland buffer, and the Genesee County Economic Development Center said that should avoid the need for a DEC wetlands permit. DEC had not yet decided whether one is required The Batavian.
Approvals: the town Planning Board had not yet taken up site plan approval. The town supervisor said the executive order does not change the town's review deadlines The Batavian.
Litigation: in July, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club filed suit in State Supreme Court challenging a zoning agreement between the town and the GCEDC. No ruling has been reported The Batavian.

No construction has started.

Niagara Digital Campus, Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls Redevelopment's roughly $1.5 billion campus proposal has not broken ground. In June, the Niagara Falls City Council approved a settlement of the eminent domain dispute over Falls Street land. The mayor said the vote was not an approval of the data center, and no construction timeline has been set Spectrum News. Background is in our May post on the project.

Former Tonawanda Coke Site, Town of Tonawanda

A proposed 300-megawatt campus at the former Tonawanda Coke site has been described as on hold by the town supervisor. The developer disputes that and says it will proceed after NYISO and National Grid approvals Spectrum News.

Power Generation

Cider Solar, Genesee County

At 500 megawatts AC, Cider Solar is the largest solar project in New York. Hecate Energy is managing construction for owner Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, and commercial operation is anticipated in December 2026 Hecate Energy.

Heritage Wind, Town of Barre, Orleans County

Apex Clean Energy's 126-megawatt Heritage Wind project cleared trees in early 2026 Orleans Hub. The project says civil construction, starting with the substation site and foundations, was set to begin on or about October 1, 2026. It lists 28 turbines, more than 200 construction jobs and operation in 2027 Heritage Wind. See our May post for the project's permitting history and scope.

Bear Ridge Solar, Cambria and Pendleton, Niagara County

Cypress Creek's 100-megawatt, roughly $221 million Bear Ridge Solar project received preliminary incentive approval from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency in May Niagara Gazette via Yahoo. In a July 20 letter, Niagara County denied highway work permits for county roads, saying the state's Office of Renewable Energy Siting lacks authority over county rights-of-way. A final IDA vote had not been reported Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. Our June post has the background.

The Grid and the Supply Chain

National Grid, Perry Street substation, Buffalo: a $32 million rebuild of a station built in 1916, which added 13,200-volt service for large loads in Larkinville and the First Ward. It went online this summer, and National Grid calls it the first of about a dozen substations it will modernize or rebuild in the coming years National Grid.
Niagara Power Transformer, Cheektowaga: the Quanta Services-owned transformer maker is planning a more than $71 million, 96,000-square-foot expansion. On September 29 the New York Power Authority approved $4.5 million in power proceeds for the project NYPA. Our September post covers the plan.
Micron, Town of Clay: farther east, National Grid is planning eight 345-kilovolt lines, a substation expansion and a gas line to serve Micron's fabs, as covered in our October 6 post.
Statewide planning: New York's Energy Planning Board meets December 9 to begin an Energy Infrastructure Development Plan for generation, transmission and storage, as covered in our October 11 post.

What This Means for Contractors

For the next 12 to 18 months, the work in Western New York will come from projects that already have their permits, not from new data center announcements. Lake Mariner's CB-4 and CB-5, Cider Solar, Heritage Wind's civil work, and utility substation and transformer projects are where electrical, civil and concrete crews will be needed. New hyperscale proposals face a longer path. Before a shovel goes in the ground, they will need DEC action after the state study, local zoning that is now being rewritten in several towns, and community investment and power supply terms that are still being set. Contractors tracking these projects should watch three things: the GEIS schedule, the Public Service Commission's power supply rules, and whether STAMP's site plan reaches a vote.