Gov. Janet Mills expressed reservations Friday about the statewide moratorium on large data centers that passed both chambers of the Legislature this week.
The proposed freeze, currently awaiting funding after it was approved by the Senate Wednesday, would ban large data centers for the next 18 months, making Maine the first state to do so.
Lawmakers debated adding exceptions to the bill that could aid data center projects already in the works, like the one in Jay, but both chambers ultimately rejected those amendments.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there needs to be a carveout for Jay. Jay needs those jobs, with appropriate guardrails for conserving water resources, electricity resources,” Mills said during a budget signing ceremony at Bangor’s Eastern Maine Community College on Friday.
Mills did not directly answer a question from a reporter about whether she intends to support the bill, but her comments about Jay raise questions about whether she may veto the ban when it comes to her desk.
“I have mixed feelings about data centers, but look, we all use AI, cell phones every day,” Mills said. At the same time, she added, “we need to be cognizant of the potential environmental issues.”
The governor is primarily concerned with how data centers could affect electricity rates in the state, she said.
“We want data centers that will reduce electricity rates if at all possible,” Mills said.
For the most part, data centers have led to higher electricity bills. Between 2020 and 2025, electricity costs soared by as much as 267% in areas across the country near data centers, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. There are some exceptions, like in California where the state’s largest power company says data centers helped cut its electricity rates by 13%.
Many U.S. cities and counties have enacted data center bans as rapid development for artificial intelligence raises concerns about utility costs and negative impacts on the environment and local communities. Plans for data centers in several Maine communities, including Wiscasset and Lewiston, have been shut down due to opposition from the public.
The planned data center at the former paper mill in Jay is set to begin construction this summer, although the state-level ban would halt those plans. Plans in Sanford and Loring would also be interrupted by the law.
Earlier this week, Bangor city councilors indicated they plan to fast-track a local ordinance that would ban data centers in the city for the next six months, with city officials raising concerns about water use and the relatively low number of long-term local jobs typically added by data centers.
