Stargate build vs. local bans
Construction reportedly started in Texas on Stargate, described as one of the world’s largest AI data‑centre projects, even as Maine moves to temporarily ban new data centres pending energy and environmental debates. The contrast highlights simultaneous expansion of AI compute capacity and rising local pushback that can pause projects into 2027. (infobae.com, businessinsider.com)
Construction is moving ahead in West Texas on the first Stargate campus, while Maine lawmakers are trying to block most new large data centers until late 2027. (openai.com) OpenAI said on January 21, 2025 that Stargate plans to invest $500 billion in United States artificial intelligence infrastructure over four years, with SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX as the initial equity funders. OpenAI said the buildout was starting in Texas. (openai.com) The Texas site is in Abilene, where Crusoe said the campus is a 1.2 gigawatt project on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Crusoe said the first two buildings were live by September 2025 after construction on the first phase began in June 2024. (crusoe.ai, crusoe.ai) Maine is moving in the opposite direction. The state House backed LD 307 by an 82-62 vote, and the bill would bar permits for data centers with loads of 20 megawatts or more until November 1, 2027. (maine.gov) The bill would also create a Maine Data Center Coordination Council and require a report to lawmakers by February 1, 2027. Maine Public reported the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee first advanced the proposal in March after debate over a planned 300 megawatt project in Sanford. (maine.gov, mainepublic.org) The split reflects how artificial intelligence infrastructure works on the ground. Training and running large models requires warehouse-sized buildings filled with chips, transmission hookups, and power measured in hundreds of megawatts or more. (openai.com, crusoe.ai) In Texas, developers and partners are scaling up. Crusoe, Blue Owl Capital, and Primary Digital Infrastructure said in May 2025 they had expanded the Abilene plan to eight buildings and about $15 billion in committed capital. (crusoe.ai) In Maine, supporters of the pause said the state should set rules before projects arrive. Representative Melanie Sachs said large artificial intelligence data centers can strain electric infrastructure, natural resources, and host communities if they are not planned in advance. (maine.gov) Opponents said a pause could send investment elsewhere. CNBC reported that business groups and builders argued even a short moratorium would leave Maine behind as other states compete for projects. (cnbc.com) The immediate next step is political, not technical. CNBC reported that Maine’s bill cleared both chambers in text but still faced final passage steps and possible action from Governor Janet Mills, while Stargate’s Texas buildout was already underway. (cnbc.com, openai.com)
