Maine's bill to pause larger data center projects awaits governor's approval; ban would be the first of its kind in U.S.

Maine's data center bill would pause planned projects in two rural
towns for 18-months. (Photo by Troy Mortier, Unsplash)

If Maine's new data center bill becomes law, the state will become the first in the country to push pause on large data center construction. 

"The Maine Senate took a final vote on April 14 to enact first-of-its-kind legislation banning large data centers in the state until November 2027," reports Julia Tilton of The Daily Yonder. The bill would halt data centers that require 20 megawatts or more of power, including two already planned in the rural towns of Jay and Limestone.

The Maine legislation "would also establish a study group to examine the impact of such facilities and recommend legislative guardrails," reports Jenna Russell of The New York Times. Maine lawmakers have already made data centers "ineligible for certain business tax exemptions." 

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has yet to sign the bill into law, and it's unclear whether she will, given that it would mean halting data center plans already in the works. "On April 10, the governor said that a data center proposed at a retired paper mill in Jay, Maine, must be exempt from the ban while speaking to the press at an event in Bangor, Maine," Tilton explains. "An amendment with that carve-out failed to pass the legislature." The current bill doesn't include any exemptions. 

Like many New England residents, Mainers already deal with a fragile grid and pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country. Advocates of the ban say the moratorium is needed to prevent further increases in electricity costs and to protect communities from environmental hazards associated with AI data centers, such as noise and excessive water use, Tilton reports. Advocates also point to the relatively few jobs data centers produce, even as they gobble up vast resources.

Mills, who is facing a heated Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate, has "ten days to veto the legislation, sign it into law or allow it to become law without her signature," Russell reports. "President Donald Trump has threatened to sue states and withhold funding if they pass laws restricting the AI growth."