First ban on data center construction in US state halted after all
In the northeastern US, the legislature voted to prohibit data centers until the end of 2027. However, the governor has prevented the moratorium.
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The first complete ban on the construction of data centers in an entire US state has been halted on the home stretch, with Maine Governor Janet Mills vetoing the bill LD 307. The politician from the Democratic Party announced this publicly before the weekend, citing the lack of an exception for a planned data center in the small town of Jay as the reason for her decision. Had the Maine legislature provided an exception for this project, Mills would have signed the bill, she assures. However, both the House and Senate can now override the veto with a two-thirds majority.
Governor actually in favor of construction freeze
In principle, Mills welcomes a moratorium on the construction of data centers, she assures in her reasoning. After all, realized projects in other states have a significant impact on the environment and electricity prices, the politician writes: “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 to finally bring jobs and investment back to the site of a closed paper mill.” They had worked for two years to bring the project to their municipality, “to finally bring jobs and investment back” to the site of a closed paper mill.
The affected community has now praised the decision, reports the local newspaper Portland Press Herald. The veto was reportedly welcomed not only by those responsible for the construction project but also by local politicians. This required a lot of courage. However, initiatives that advocated for the construction ban are sharply criticizing it. The head of Our Power, for example, pointed out that they had never experienced such strong and cross-party support for a project as they had for the moratorium. Another organization, Maine Conservation Voters, accuses the governor of siding with large data center operators and against her voters.
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The legislative initiative is part of a broader movement against the construction boom in AI data centers, which is causing growing concern in the US. The immense power consumption of the facilities is particularly in focus, as the plants are likely to drive up electricity prices for everyone. During the eighteen-month construction ban, a working group established by the law was supposed to examine the potential consequences of building data centers. Among other things, it was to investigate the impact of construction on the stability of the power supply and how environmental impacts could be minimized. Mills now wants to initiate such an examination by decree.
(mho)
