📣 Report Something
USA › New York › St. Lawrence County › Massena Town
Proposed

NYDIG data center campus at the former Alcoa East smelter (Massena)

Also called: Massena Data Center, North Country Colocation Services (NCCS) site

NYDIG, which already runs bitcoin mining at the old Alcoa East aluminum plant, wants to build three big data center buildings there using about 635 MW of power. Plans call for river water for cooling and hundreds of backup diesel generators. Residents have gathered petitions against it; the town board voted not to pause it.

✔ ConfirmedSourceLast checked: Oct 7, 2026

Where things stand: Site plan under town review. Town board rejected a 6-month moratorium 3-2 in Sept. 2026. Data centers are not yet an allowed use in that industrial zone.

🕒 Latest update (Sept 16, 2026): Massena Town Board voted 3-2 against a 6-month data center moratorium after a public hearing with more than 20 speakers.

What we know

  • 📍 WhereFormer Alcoa East aluminum smelter, about 8 miles east of Massena village and about 1 mile from Akwesasne, Massena, St. Lawrence County
  • 🏢 CompanyNew York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG)
  • 🏛️ Owned byStone Ridge Asset Management
  • 👤 Built forunknown (company says a 15-year lease with a creditworthy tenant)
  • ⚡ Power it needs635 megawatts (about as much as 508,000 homes)
  • 🔌 Where the power comes fromNot settled; the county planning board asked where 635 MW of power would come from. The site already uses large amounts of power for bitcoin mining.
  • 💧 WaterRiver water (about 2.6 million gallons a day taken, about 1.1 million gallons a day sent back) · 2,600,000 gallons a day
  • ❄️ CoolingEvaporative cooling using river water (county planning board review)
  • 🛢️ Diesel generators314
  • 👷 Jobs promised200

❓ Still unanswered

Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?

  • Where will the 635 MW of power come from, and will it raise power bills in the North Country? 🙋 I'll find out
  • How big is the project? One report says 870,000 sq ft; the county review lists three buildings of 500,000-604,000 sq ft each. 🙋 I'll find out
  • Will the Zoning Board of Appeals rule that a data center is allowed in the industrial zone? 🙋 I'll find out
  • Is the project exempt from the state permit pause (Executive Order 62)? 🙋 I'll find out
  • Was a secret deal (NDA) signed with the town? 🙋 I'll find out

What happened so far

  • May 18, 2026
    St. Lawrence County Planning Board said the site plan raised more questions than answers (power supply, zoning, water and old contaminated lagoons).
  • May 22, 2026
    Town of Massena Planning Board got its first look at the plans and set up an escrow account to pay for expert review.
  • Sept 16, 2026
    Massena Town Board voted 3-2 against a 6-month data center moratorium after a public hearing with more than 20 speakers.

Local votes and rules

✋ Turned down

Town board voted 3-2 against a proposed 6-month pause on data centers, after a public hearing with more than 20 speakers. A large data center is planned at the old Alcoa East site.

Sept 16, 2026
🛰️ See it from above

An aerial photo of the area.

We only know the town, so this shows the town center, not the exact site. Photos: USGS The National Map.

Live near here?

Tell us what you see, hear, or what your bill looks like.

📣 Report something

Where this comes from

  1. County planning board: Massena data center site plan contains more questions than answers · NNY360 / Watertown Daily Times · May 18, 2026
  2. Town of Massena Planning Board gets first look at data center plans · NNY360 · May 22, 2026
  3. Massena board rejects six-month data center moratorium (citing WWNY-TV) · iRecruit · Sept 16, 2026
  4. New York town finds moratorium can't stop data center project · iRecruit · Sept 30, 2026

See something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.