A controversial bitcoin mining operation in the Finger Lakes is seeking to transform into a data center despite Gov. Earlier this month, Hochul signed the country’s first data center moratorium, pausing permits for facilities that use 50 megawatts or more of power. The company said in a press release that it plans to develop the site immediately as a data center. Lisa Perfetto, an attorney at the advocacy group Earth Justice, said there isn’t much of a difference between running a data center and mining for digital currency. “They're now just attempting to rebrand as an AI data center, but that just has the same potential to cause harm, to further increase harmful emissions.”