State Watch

Maine passes first-in-nation freeze on big data centers

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by Sarah Davis - 04/15/26 9:42 AM ET

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by Sarah Davis - 04/15/26 9:42 AM ET

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The Maine legislature passed the first state ban in the nation on the development of large data centers on Tuesday.

The temporary measure, which lasts for 1.5 years, restricts the construction of new data centers that use over 20 megawatts of power.

The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills (D) for her signature.

Mills had previously requested an exception for a data center project on a defunct paper mill site, which was rejected by state legislators.

The Hill has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.

During this moratorium period, a coordinating council will convene to produce recommendations and guidelines to shape the future of the state’s policies on large data centers. The council will include government officials, experts and other stakeholders.

The bill allocates $95,000 to support the council’s activities.

The new Maine ban is part of a larger trend of state legislatures considering bills to impose new restrictions on data centers as the public and experts express concerns about the negative economic and environmental effects of these projects.

At least 12 other states led by Republicans and Democrats are considering similar temporary bans on these construction projects.

Port Washington, Wis., became the first city earlier this month to approve a referendum to require larger data center projects to seek voter approval before proceeding with construction.

A bill introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature last month seeks to place restrictions on data centers’ impacts on electricity bills. The state’s lower chamber has approved the measure, and it now sits in the Pennsylvania Senate.

The issue has also become a major talking point in the midterm elections, as candidates face pressing questions about general cost of living concerns that are impacted by these building projects.

In Georgia, where the state legislature is considering a temporary ban of over two years on data center construction, gubernatorial candidates are debating the merits and faults of these projects. One of the bill’s sponsors, state Rep. Derrick Jackson (D), is running in the race.

Another candidate, former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (D), said the final decision about these projects should rest with local communities.

“We [shouldn’t] as a state come in and tell a community not to do something that could eventually become one of the largest economic tailwinds the community’s seen in decades, if not a generation,” Duncan told The Hill in March.

On the federal level, Democrats have led a push to place safeguards around these construction projects. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to bar construction of any new data center until it can be determined that these facilities will not pose health or safety threats to the communities around them.

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