Maine is about to become the first state to hit pause on data center construction. Both chambers of the state legislature approved a temporary ban this week that would block new facilities until November 2027. The bill sets up a council to figure out what rules data centers should follow to avoid jacking up energy costs for residents, and it's expected to get final passage in the next few days.
The driving concern is energy costs. Maine already pays some of the highest electricity rates in the country, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Seth Berry, executive director of the nonprofit Our Power, said a pause gives the state time to build more power supply before a "data center gold rush" hits. "If data centers are allowed to increase those costs even more, and we aren't prepared, it could really be devastating especially for our lower- and working-class populations," he told CNBC.
Business groups aren't happy. Glenn Adams, business development director at Sargent Corp., a Maine builder constructing data centers in Virginia and North Carolina, warned: "Things are going so fast. There's a race against other countries."
Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, argued the state already has a "significant" permitting process and a moratorium is the wrong move. Governor Janet Mills could still veto the bill. She pushed for exemptions in certain areas, but the House rejected that amendment 29 to 115. Mills is also running for Senate and trailing her primary opponent by double digits, which makes the politics even messier. Maine isn't the only state wrestling with this. Similar bills have appeared in at least a dozen others, including Virginia and Georgia, where Meta, Google, and Microsoft are building massive facilities. If this ban holds, expect more states to follow suit. The move responds to grid strain and rising electricity costs from AI infrastructure buildup.