Maine OKs First Statewide Ban on Large Data Centers

Maine just hit pause on the data-center gold rush. Lawmakers on Tuesday approved a first-in-the-nation statewide halt on building large data centers, freezing new projects until November 2027 as the state studies how the power-hungry facilities might affect electricity costs and the environment. The bill covers centers using at least 20 megawatts—enough juice for more than 15,000 homes—and calls for a new Data Center Coordination Council to review their impact on the grid and ratepayers in a state that's already paying some of the country's highest residential power prices, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The measure now lands on the desk of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who has signaled support for a pause that carves out an exception for an already-planned project in the town of Jay, notes the Portland Press Herald. "Jay needs those jobs, with appropriate guardrails for conserving water resources, electricity resources," she told the Bangor Daily Herald.The bill passed mostly along party lines, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats. Maine's move comes as at least 10 other states, along with local governments in places like Indiana and Michigan, weigh or enact similar slowdowns amid the AI-driven surge in data-center construction. The issue is also bleeding into election politics: Mills, term-limited as governor, is running for the US Senate seat held by Republican Susan Collins in a closely watched November contest, and a Democratic challenger is proving formidable.