Brunswick, Scarborough enact data center moratoriums
Brunswick and Scarborough Town Councils in Maine have both enacted 180-day moratoriums on data center construction. These temporary bans aim to allow the towns to evaluate and potentially enact further restrictions, following a vetoed state bill and amidst resident concerns over water and electricity usage.
The towns of Brunswick and Scarborough in Maine have joined several other municipalities, including Westbrook and Bangor, in enacting temporary bans on data center construction. Both the Brunswick and Scarborough Town Councils unanimously passed 180-day moratoriums last week. The purpose of these moratoriums is to provide the councils with time to review existing ordinances and codes, and to determine if additional restrictions on data centers are warranted.
This wave of local action comes after Maine Governor Janet Mills vetoed a bill in April that would have temporarily prohibited the construction of data centers with a load of 20 megawatts or more across the state. Brunswick Town Councilor Corey Perreault highlighted the urgency, stating that significant damage could occur by November 2027 if towns await state intervention. Residents in both Scarborough and Brunswick have expressed considerable concerns regarding data centers' high water and electricity consumption, potential pollution, and impacts on property values. Neal Gabler, a Topsham resident, addressed the Brunswick Town Council, warning that allowing data centers would lead to pollution, illness, economic distress, and unlivable conditions.
While Brunswick already hosts smaller data centers like Enables IT and FirstLight, its new moratorium targets any new construction with a demand of one megawatt or more. In Scarborough, however, a data center project proposed by developer Daniel Dickinson is actively in the planning board process. Dickinson's attorney, Greg Braun, argued against the moratorium, noting the project had been under review for over a year, with its first phase already approved by the Planning Board. However, Scarborough Planning Board Director Autum Speer countered that the project's site inventory was approved before any mention of a data center, with the data center aspect only emerging after the governor's veto.
Both Scarborough and Brunswick have a deadline—November and December, respectively—to decide whether to extend their moratoriums, enact permanent policies regulating data centers, or choose to make no further changes.