Maine lawmakers passed a bill that could make it the first U.S. state to impose a moratorium on new data centers, as opposition grows across the country against power-hungry facilities because of their impact on home energy bills and the environment.
The bill, which still requires final approval from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, would freeze approvals of data centers with power requirements exceeding 20 megawatts until October 2027 while a state-appointed commission analyzes their impact on local power grids, electric rates, air and water.
Later in the day, the bill passed the House 79-62 and the Senate 21-13. Governor Mills’ office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Tuesday.
Mills insisted on an exemption for a smaller project being developed that reuses existing infrastructure and would not have a significant impact on the grid or energy bills.
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Maine will serve as a test case for other states that have been discussing similar measures. So far, 11 states are considering legislation to prevent or limit data center development.
After facing backlash over Big Tech’s data center proposals, the Trump administration last month had the companies sign a voluntary commitment at the White House saying they would bear the cost of new generation to power their data centers.
While the question of how to handle the explosion of data centers does not fall along party lines, two Democratic lawmakers — Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — introduced legislation last month that would halt all data center construction until Congress passes AI safety legislation.
Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have also introduced legislation aimed at protecting ratepayers from soaring data center-related energy bills.
(Reporting by Valerie Volkovic in Washington and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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