\n<\/p>\n
Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have temporarily brought permits for new data centers to a halt.<\/p>\n
If it had become law, L.D. 307<\/a> would have imposed the country\u2019s first statewide moratorium on new data centers \u2014 lasting, in this case, until November 1, 2027. The bill also called for the creation of a 13-person council to study and make recommendations on data center construction.<\/p>\n With public opposition to data centers<\/a> rising, other states including New York<\/a> have considered similar moratoriums.<\/p>\n In a letter<\/a> to the state legislature, Mills \u2014 a Democrat currently running for the U.S. Senate \u2014 said that pausing new data centers would be \u201cappropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates\u201d and that she \u201cwould have signed this bill\u201d if it had included an exemption for a data center project in the Town of Jay.<\/p>\n That project, Mills said, \u201cenjoys strong local support from its host community and region.\u201d<\/p>\n Melanie Sachs, a Democratic state representative who sponsored the bill, said Mills\u2019 veto<\/a> \u201cposes significant potential consequences for all ratepayers, our electric grid, our environment, and our shared energy future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n