State lawmakers getting ready to vote on bill that would put a moratorium on data centers in Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (WMTW) - State lawmakers are getting ready to vote on a bill that would put a moratorium on data centers in Maine.

Lawmakers are looking to bring together state and local officials to ensure there’s plans in place regarding the environment and artificial intelligence before data centers come to the state.

The bill’s sponsor says this is a temporary pause to allow time to create a framework that allows for the likely impacts of the centers to be studied.

However, opponents say it would hurt Maine businesses should they move forward with this bill.

“Every data center that needs to be built in this country will be built. And, you know, for those who claim to care about the environment, you know, we have projects moving forward that are going to use renewable energy, and those projects are going to be killed. And these data centers will be built in other states,” said Republican Senate Matt Harrington of York County.

These data centers use a lot of energy and supporters of the bill say they want to make sure the grid can handle it and that Maine ratepayers aren’t picking up the costs of a possible data center.

Representative Melaine Sachs of Freeport says having guardrails in place is very important.

“The reason for the temporary limitation is to make sure that the transparency that communities need, that the regulatory framework for these businesses is known and certain,” said Sachs.

This bill faces votes in both chambers.