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Data centers · Hampden County, Massachusetts

Hampden County

4 projects on record · 2 moratorium or ban actions

← Statewide map
Barnstable CountyBerkshire CountyBristol CountyDukes CountyEssex CountyFranklin CountyHampden CountyHampshire CountyMiddlesex CountyNantucket CountyNorfolk CountyPlymouth CountySuffolk CountyWorcester CountyServistar data center campus (Westfield) · Denied · 274 MWChestnut River Power data center (100 Water St., Holyoke) · Stalled · 20 MWMassachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) · OperatingCommonwealth of Massachusetts Springfield Data Center · Operating
Projects in Hampden County
Servistar data center campus (Westfield)Servistar Realties LLC274DeniedOct. 13, 202650 MW+
Chestnut River Power data center (100 Water St., Holyoke)Chestnut River Power and Infrastructure20StalledJune 19, 2026Under 50 MW
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Springfield Data CenterCommonwealth of Massachusetts (Information Technology Division, now EOTSS)—OperatingSept. 5, 2025Under 50 MW
Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC)MGHPCC consortium (Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, University of Massachusetts)—OperatingOct. 24, 2026Under 50 MW

Moratoriums and bans

  1. June 16, 2026 Holyoke: Ban. The City Council voted 9-4 for a citywide zoning ban on AI data centers over 12 MW, exempting the existing Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center; it followed a proposed 20 MW center at 100 Water St. (Athol Daily News, June 19, 2026; The Shoestring, July 2, 2026; WBUR, Sept. 11, 2026)
  2. July 6, 2026 Westfield: Moratorium. The City Council unanimously gave final approval to a 365-day moratorium on new data centers, backed by the planning board; WAMC reported it was not expected to affect the already permitted Servistar project. (The Reminder, July 16, 2026; WAMC Northeast Public Radio, July 13, 2026)

Updates, newest first

  1. Oct. 24, 2026 Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) · The MGHPCC website describes the Holyoke center's computing, storage and network resources in present tense. (MGHPCC, Oct. 24, 2026)
  2. Oct. 13, 2026 Servistar data center campus (Westfield) · At a special meeting, the planning board voted unanimously against extending the 2021 special permit, finding no good cause; members cited the company's lapsed LLC registration and the permit never being recorded at the registry of deeds. (New England Public Media (via Connecticut Public), Oct. 14, 2026; The Boston Globe, Oct. 14, 2026)
  3. July 6, 2026 Servistar data center campus (Westfield) · The City Council gave final approval to a one-year moratorium on new data centers; the already permitted Servistar project was treated as exempt. (The Reminder, July 16, 2026; New England Public Media (via Connecticut Public), Oct. 14, 2026; The Boston Globe, July 14, 2026)
  4. July 6, 2026 Westfield: Moratorium · The City Council unanimously gave final approval to a 365-day moratorium on new data centers, backed by the planning board; WAMC reported it was not expected to affect the already permitted Servistar project. (The Reminder, July 16, 2026; WAMC Northeast Public Radio, July 13, 2026)
  5. June 19, 2026 Chestnut River Power data center (100 Water St., Holyoke) · Chestnut River said it was reviewing the decision and was not ruling out the project. (Athol Daily News, June 19, 2026)
  6. June 18, 2026 Servistar data center campus (Westfield) · One of the proposed lots, 191 Servistar Industrial Way, was sold to a local buyer who told The Shoestring he had not known it was part of the project. (The Shoestring, July 2, 2026)
  7. June 16, 2026 Chestnut River Power data center (100 Water St., Holyoke) · The City Council voted 9-4 for a citywide zoning ban on AI data centers over 12 MW, exempting the existing Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center; the mayor later signed it. (Athol Daily News, June 19, 2026; The Shoestring, July 2, 2026)
  8. June 16, 2026 Holyoke: Ban · The City Council voted 9-4 for a citywide zoning ban on AI data centers over 12 MW, exempting the existing Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center; it followed a proposed 20 MW center at 100 Water St. (Athol Daily News, June 19, 2026; The Shoestring, July 2, 2026; WBUR, Sept. 11, 2026)
  9. Sept. 5, 2025 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Springfield Data Center · EOTSS's FY2026 chargeback models (effective July 1, 2025) include in-state and non-state co-location services at the Springfield data center, for which the state says it has set rates. (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, EOTSS (mass.gov), Sept. 5, 2025)
  10. Sept. 7, 2022 Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) · Members announced an expansion of more than $5 million to add room for several thousand servers, using options built into the original design. (MGHPCC, Sept. 7, 2022)
  11. July 14, 2022 Servistar data center campus (Westfield) · The state House adopted an amendment adding a data center sales tax exemption meant to help the Westfield project, but the economic development bill stalled that summer. (The Reminder, Aug. 11, 2022)
  12. Oct. 21, 2021 Servistar data center campus (Westfield) · The City Council approved a 40-year tax agreement for Servistar Realties, 10 to 3. (The Westfield News, Oct. 23, 2021)
  13. Aug. 26, 2021 Servistar data center campus (Westfield) · A $2.7 billion, roughly 2.7 million square foot data center campus of about 10 buildings in a Westfield industrial park entered permitting. (IREI, Aug. 26, 2021)
  14. Feb. 2013 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Springfield Data Center · The state lists substantial completion in February 2013, with about 11,500 square feet of computer room in phase one, shell space for a second phase, a Tier III N+1 design and a LEED Gold target. (Commonwealth of Massachusetts (mass.gov), Oct. 24, 2026)
  15. Nov. 16, 2012 Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) · Gov. Deval Patrick and university leaders attended the ribbon-cutting; the center offered 10 MW for computing. (Boston University (HIC), Nov. 27, 2012)
  16. July 9, 2012 Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) · The center described a $95 million, roughly 90,000-square-foot building on 8.6 acres with about 10 MW for computers, due to open in November. (MGHPCC, July 9, 2012)
  17. Aug. 9, 2010 Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) · The consortium's board chose the former Mastex Industries site in Holyoke's Canal District, subject to agreements with Holyoke Gas & Electric, the city and the state. (MGHPCC, Aug. 9, 2010)
  18. June 28, 2010 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Springfield Data Center · Officials broke ground; The Reminder reported a $110 million, 148,000-square-foot building meant to help merge 183 state data centers into two. (The Reminder, June 28, 2010)
  19. Jan. 8, 2009 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Springfield Data Center · The state picked the former Springfield Technical High School as the site for a facility to back up its primary data center in Chelsea; Data Center Knowledge reported a $76 million, 114,000-square-foot plan. (Data Center Knowledge, Jan. 8, 2009)

Statewide

Sales tax exemption: the Mass Leads Act (H.5100, Chapter 238 of the Acts of 2024, signed Nov. 20, 2024; sections 47 and 214) created a 20-year sales and use tax exemption for certified 'qualified data centers' (G.L. c. 64H, s. 6(zz); c. 23A, s. 70; rules at 400 CMR 9.00) covering equipment, software, electricity and construction, for sites of at least 100,000 square feet, $50 million of investment and 100 jobs. An earlier attempt, a 2022 House amendment aimed at the Westfield project, died when that year's economic development bill stalled. (Massachusetts Legislature, Nov. 20, 2024; Mass.gov (Governor's Office), Nov. 20, 2024; Mass.gov (Executive Office of Economic Development), Oct. 24, 2026; Mass.gov (Executive Office of Economic Development), Oct. 24, 2026; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Jan. 7, 2025; The Reminder, Aug. 11, 2022) On June 25, 2026, the Healey administration stopped taking applications for the data center exemption, about a month after it opened, and issued a 'statement of expectations' asking data centers to bring their own clean energy, not raise other ratepayers' costs, limit water use and diesel backup, and sign community benefits agreements. (Mass.gov (Governor's Office, EEA, EOED), June 25, 2026; Mass.gov (Executive Office of Economic Development), Oct. 24, 2026) Executive Order No. 658 (Sept. 8, 2026) bars state agencies from permitting new or expanded data centers over 25 MW of peak demand unless they conform to the June 2026 framework and present a community benefits agreement that the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity accepts; it bans state nondisclosure agreements with data centers and sets up a Ratepayer Protection Fund, with MassDEP to set an alternative compliance payment by Dec. 31, 2026. It covers data centers built or expanded after it was signed. (Pierce Atwood LLP, Sept. 10, 2026; WBUR (State House News Service), Sept. 8, 2026) Large loads: no approved data center or large-load tariff was found. In D.P.U. 26-DC (Sept. 24, 2026), the DPU ordered Eversource (NSTAR Electric), National Grid and Unitil to file by Oct. 23, 2026, lists of all queued loads over 25 MW and data centers over 1 MW, plus plans to weed out speculative requests and to have data centers bring clean energy for 100 percent of their demand. (Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, Sept. 24, 2026) Energy affordability bill (H.5175 / S.3166, 2025-2026 session): the House version (passed 128-27, Feb. 26, 2026) would require data centers of 20 MW or more to buy at least 80 percent renewable power and make utilities file a data-center tariff for DPU approval; the Senate version (passed 32-8, July 1, 2026) adopted Sen. Vanna Howard's amendment #162, which applies guardrails only to data centers using the tax exemption, and rejected broader amendments, including Sen. John Velis's. The bill has been in conference committee since July 16, 2026, and has not been enacted. (Massachusetts Legislature, July 16, 2026; Metropolitan Area Planning Council, March 5, 2026; InsideLowell, March 2, 2026; Sierra Club Massachusetts, July 7, 2026; Daily Hampshire Gazette (republished by Sen. John Velis), July 7, 2026; Union of Concerned Scientists, Sept. 8, 2026) S.3213 (July 23, 2026) is a Howard amendment to the Senate's economic development bill that would set statewide rules for data centers of 20 MW or more: 100 percent new clean power, phased-out fossil backup, MassDEP water and noise certification, yearly energy and water disclosure starting Dec. 1, 2026, labor and community benefit agreements, and data center tariffs within 90 days, with loss of the tax exemption for any facility that does not comply. What became of it was not found. (Massachusetts Legislature, July 23, 2026) The 2024 climate law (S.2967, signed Nov. 20, 2024) merges permits for clean energy generation of 25 MW or more into one Energy Facilities Siting Board permit and creates the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity. It does not mention data centers, but the 2026 executive order relies on that office's community benefits standards. (Barclay Damon LLP, Nov. 26, 2024; Pierce Atwood LLP, Sept. 10, 2026) A citizen initiative filed for the November 2028 ballot, reported Aug. 13, 2026, would let local boards permit a data center only after two-thirds of local voters approve it and after it secures a utility contract shielding other ratepayers from its costs and a water-supply certification; the Attorney General's decision on whether it qualifies was due by Sept. 2, 2026, and the outcome was not found. (Ballotpedia News, Aug. 13, 2026) Massachusetts data centers →