Jay data center plan faces final test on ‘Veto Day’

Maine lawmakers are preparing for a decisive "Veto Day" vote in Augusta on a bill that would have imposed a 90-day moratorium on new data center approvals statewide. Governor Janet Mills recently vetoed L.D. 307, a bill sponsored by Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport, which also sought to establish a Data Center Coordination Council to study the potential impacts of data centers across Maine. The override vote requires a two-thirds majority in each chamber, a threshold that previous votes on the bill did not meet, making a successful override unlikely. Tony McDonald, a principal with JGT2 Redevelopment LLC, the owner of the former Androscoggin Mill site in Jay where a data center is planned, expressed satisfaction with the veto, stating that a moratorium would "kill this project." The identified data center company is Sentinel Data Centers LLC, with an expected opening in early 2028. Local officials in Jay, including the Jay Select Board and Regional School Unit 73, have voiced strong support for the data center, citing the potential for increased tax revenue. Franklin County commissioners also submitted a letter urging Governor Mills to veto L.D. 307. Governor Mills, while vetoing the bill, stated her intention to establish a commission via executive order to study data centers and ensure responsible economic development, grid reliability, and environmental protection. Rep. Sachs, however, warned that sustaining the veto would leave Maine communities without adequate regulatory "guardrails" for data center development, urging legislators to override the veto or for the Governor to impose a temporary moratorium herself. McDonald confirmed that remediation of the mill site is nearing completion, with selective demolition to allow JGT2 Redevelopment to deliver the building to Sentinel Data Centers by year-end.