Local data‑center pushback

Maine lawmakers have given final approval to a statewide pause on large new data centers, putting the state on track for the first ban of its kind. (newsfromthestates.com) The bill, LD 307, would block data centers larger than 20 megawatts until November 2027 and create a Maine Data Center Coordination Council to study siting and policy. The measure passed both chambers last week and is awaiting action on the special appropriations table. (newsfromthestates.com) Representative Melanie Sachs, a Democrat from Freeport, added the moratorium to a broader bill after proposals surfaced in Sanford and Jay. She said the state wanted time to study effects on electric rates, the power grid, environmental resources, and local governments. (mainepublic.org) Data centers are the warehouse-sized buildings that run cloud services and train artificial intelligence systems. The U.S. Department of Energy said they used about 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and could reach roughly 6.7% to 12% by 2028. (energy.gov) That growth has shifted the fight from tax breaks to local zoning, water, and power capacity. Stateline reported in March that lawmakers in at least 11 states had introduced temporary moratorium bills this session, while cities and counties in Missouri and Indiana had already adopted local pauses. (stateline.org) The local pushback is not limited to Maine. Harvard’s Gazette reported this month that more than 4,000 data centers are already operating in the United States, with 3,000 more planned or under construction, and that opposition is rising over electricity demand, water use, and tax subsidies. (news.harvard.edu) Supporters of the Maine pause say the state lacks rules for projects that can draw power on the scale of a small city. Senator Mark Lawrence, a Democrat from York, said before the Senate vote that lawmakers needed time “to absorb and understand the impact” of data centers on Maine. (newsfromthestates.com) Republicans and developers argued the bill could kill projects before the state sets any permanent rules. In February, Senator Matt Harrington, a Republican from Sanford, said a proposed 100- to 300-megawatt facility in his district could bring about 100 long-term jobs and warned that a pause would “blindside” the business. (mainepublic.org) Maine’s vote does not slow the national buildout by itself. It does show where the next battles are moving: not over whether data centers will expand, but over which towns, grids, and water systems will be asked to absorb them first. (stateline.org)