Maine lawmakers put pause on new AI data centers, bill heads to Mills' desk

A bill that would place a pause on approvals for new data centers in the state of Maine is heading to Governor Janet Mills’ desk after lawmakers became the first in the nation to approve such a provision.

The measure pauses approvals for data centers that require more than 20 megawatts of power for 18 months. It also creates a new council, the Data Center Coordination Council, which would study such centers, potential impacts on the state and issue policy recommendations.

Both the state House and Senate voted on the bill on Tuesday, with the former passing it in a 79-62 vote and the latter voting 21-13 in favor.

Mills has expressed concerns about the bill not including a carveout for a proposed data center in Jay, per the Portland Press Herald. Lawmakers had voted down an amendment that would have exempted the Jay proposal. In an April 10 budget signing event, Mills said, "I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there needs to be a carveout for Jay. Jay needs those jobs, with appropriate guardrails for conserving water resources, electricity resources," per the Bangor Daily News.

She added, "I have mixed feelings about data centers, but look, we all use AI, cell phones every day," however, "we need to be cognizant of the potential environmental issues." She said she was primarily concerned about how data centers would affect electricity rates in the state.

Opponents of the measure have said that data centers would bring jobs and tax revenue to communities, especially former mill towns that have struggled to rebuild in recent decades. Proponents have raised concerns about data centers driving up energy costs for residents and draining water supplies to cool equipment.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Melanie Sachs, said the bill was a "thoughtful, pragmatic pause" that would allow the state to effectively regulate and plan new developments without raising costs for communities. Pointing to other developments across the country, she said, "Promises of employment were not realized. Promises of minimal impact did not materialize — in fact, the opposite."

The state has not seen the same level of data center building as other states in the country; however, its first large-scale data center is currently in development for Limestone’s former Loring Air Force Base. Other proposals have been made for centers in Sanford, Wiscasset, and Lewiston, however, the latter two did not come to fruition.