The Green Party is calling for a one year moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centres while national rules governing their electricity use, water consumption and environmental effects are developed.

Green Party co leader Chlöe Swarbrick said large data centres could currently receive resource consent without public notification or community consultation.

“Right now, AI data centres can be consented behind closed doors, with no community input,” Swarbrick said.

“If we are going to let these things be built, we should at least understand who is benefiting and ensure we protect our natural resources and communities.”

The party wants the pause used to develop requirements covering renewable electricity generation, water use, grid infrastructure and environmental effects.

Swarbrick said existing planning rules did not require data centre operators to build renewable generation or use closed loop water cooling systems.

“New Zealanders haven’t even had the opportunity to discuss and decide whether they want them,” she said.

The Greens pointed to Datagrid’s planned hyperscale data centre at Makarewa in Southland.

Environment Southland confirmed the project received a non notified land use consent from the Southland District Council. Datagrid said the centre would consume 280 megawatts of electricity once operational, making it the country’s second largest electricity user behind the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.

The Greens estimated that demand would represent about 6 percent of New Zealand’s electricity supply and would be equivalent to the power consumed by more than 300,000 households.

Datagrid has said the development would create more than 1200 skilled and technical jobs during construction. It has promoted Southland’s renewable electricity supply and cool climate as advantages for the project.

Swarbrick said the proposed moratorium would apply to the most resource intensive projects and would not constitute a permanent ban on data infrastructure.

“A one year pause gives us time to get this right,” she said.

“This is not a ban on data infrastructure. It is a pause on the most resource intensive developments while New Zealanders get a say on what conditions they should meet.”

New York imposed a moratorium of up to one year on environmental permits for new hyperscale data centres this month while standards covering electricity, water and environmental effects are developed.

“We need to write the rules before the concrete is poured,” Swarbrick said.