Eastport temporarily bans underwater data centers
Eastport, Maine's City Council unanimously enacted a 180-day moratorium on an underwater AI data center proposed by DeepGreen Holdings LLC, halting all progress. The decision allows time to review citizen-initiated zoning ordinances aimed at preventing data center projects and protecting the city's character. The project has faced strong opposition from residents and Passamaquoddy tribal officials.
The Eastport, Maine, City Council voted unanimously to enact a 180-day moratorium on an underwater artificial intelligence data center proposed by DeepGreen Holdings LLC, effectively halting its progress. The moratorium allows the council to consult with the Eastport Planning Board on zoning impacts, particularly concerning two citizen-initiated ordinances designed to prevent data center projects by amending city and shoreland zoning.
DeepGreen Holdings LLC, managed by luxury real estate developer Louis Wolfson, had filed a preliminary permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in February for an underwater AI data center in Maine's Bay of Fundy, as well as a second project in Alaska. Both proposals have faced significant community resistance. FERC identified multiple deficiencies in DeepGreen's Maine application, including a failure to identify all affected tribes and a lack of detailed technical explanation for a large operational envelope. DeepGreen subsequently scaled down its Maine proposal from an original 400-acre operational envelope to a 27.1-acre active infrastructure footprint and reduced its projected power capacity from 51 MW to 15 MW.
Opponents, including the Eastport Coalition for Healthy Oceans (ECHO) and Passamaquoddy tribal officials, submitted citizen petitions for ordinances to prevent the project and protect the city's character. While one proposed ordinance for a permanent ban on data centers could proceed to voters, the city's legal counsel, Rudman Winchell, deemed a second petition requiring voter approval for large industrial/commercial developments as "unenforceable and unlawful." ECHO has since developed an updated voter-approval petition, which received necessary signatures and was filed shortly before the council meeting, along with recall petitions for councilors and a charter amendment.
Eastport Port Authority Executive Director Chris Gardner stated he does not support this specific project but believes Eastport should remain open to future data center developments that align with the city's waterborne assets, asserting the Port Authority's charter allows for such investments. The Planning Board is expected to review the proposed ordinances at a public hearing on August 24.