Maine Data Center Opposition Emerges in Senate Race and Local Development Fights
A protest at a Maine Senate debate highlighted growing opposition to data centers over climate, water, electricity and economic concerns. The article also discusses Maine moratorium efforts, the collapse of a proposed project in Jay, and a potential tidal-powered underwater data center near Eastport that faces opposition from Indigenous groups and a local coalition.
A protester interrupted a Senate debate at Husson University in Bangor, accusing artificial intelligence data centers of harming the climate and polluting water. Candidates Susan Collins and Troy Jackson supported regulatory guardrails to prevent data centers from increasing water use or electricity costs for ratepayers, while Jackson said the AI race should slow down or stop.
The article says Maine voters broadly oppose data center siting and reviews recent state and local developments. Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a legislative moratorium intended to preserve Jay's ability to site a data center, but the controversy contributed to the project's collapse. Eastport has since adopted a data center moratorium, while Massachusetts-based DeepGreen Western Passage SPV is studying a 15-megawatt underwater facility in the Bay of Fundy powered by tidal currents. The project has received an initial permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and is opposed by Indigenous communities and the Eastport Coalition for Healthy Oceans.