Another state-level effort to ban new data center development just failed, this time in Maine.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have put a pause on data centers in the state until late 2027. Mills said she supports a moratorium on data center projects but that the bill, which passed the state House and Senate his month, did not include an exemption for a project already underway.
“A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates,” Mills said in a letter to the state legislature. “But the final version of this bill fails to allow for a specific project in the Town of Jay that enjoys strong local support from its host community and region.”
A statement shared by her office said the $550 million data center redevelopment project was needed in Jay, where a paper mill closure in 2023 “eliminated hundreds of good-paying jobs and dealt a significant blow to the local economy.”
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The governor said she would have signed the bill had there been a carve-out for the project, which she said is expected to create over 800 construction jobs and at least 100 high-paying permanent jobs in addition to generating property tax revenue.
Mills, a Democrat who is running for US Senate in 2026, said she plans to issue an executive order to create a council to look at the impact of data centers in Maine.
“I believe it necessary and important to examine and plan for the potential impacts of large-scale data centers in Maine, as the use of artificial intelligence becomes more widespread,” she said.
Lawmakers in at least 11 other states have also tried and failed to pass legislation that would temporarily ban new data center development, Business Insider previously reported.
The data center boom, fueled by Big Tech’s AI ambitions, has sparked pockets of local resistance across the US amid concerns about energy consumption and impact on energy costs as well as the environment.
A Business Insider investigation found Maine had two data centers in the state as of last year.
