Maine is poised to become the first US state to impose a statewide moratorium on large data center construction after lawmakers passed a bill to that effect.
The bill needs to be signed by Governor Janet Mills before it can be enacted.
If enacted, the law would bar state and local agencies from issuing permits or approvals for data centers drawing 20 megawatts or more of power until approximately October 2027 — a regulatory shift that would directly affect enterprise infrastructure planning at a time when AI-driven demand for data center capacity is accelerating.
“AI data centers are increasingly drawn to locations with available land and strong connectivity, qualities that Maine is well-positioned to provide. But if these centers aren’t thoughtfully planned and coordinated, they can place extraordinary demands on electric infrastructure, the surrounding environment, and host communities,” State Representative Melanie Sachs, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement when the House first advanced the measure on April 6.
According to a January 2026 Congressional Research Service report, new hyperscale data centers have been built with capacities ranging from 100MW to 1,000MW, roughly equivalent to the electricity load of 80,000 to 800,000 homes. The moratorium’s 20MW floor covers virtually every large facility the industry is currently planning or building.
What the bill does
Beyond the permit freeze, the measure establishes the Maine Data Center Coordination Council, a 13-member body chaired by the Commissioner of Energy Resources, which must submit a strategy report to the governor by February 1, 2027. According to the bill’s amendment text, its mandate covers protecting ratepayers, maintaining grid reliability, minimizing environmental impacts, and enabling what the legislation describes as “responsible and appropriately sited economic development.”
Mills has pushed for an exemption protecting a proposed $550 million project at the former Androscoggin paper mill in Jay, arguing it would reuse existing infrastructure without straining the grid. Lawmakers rejected that exemption.
Mills’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A national wave, an unanswered federal question
Maine is one of at least 12 states now weighing moratorium or restraint legislation, alongside more than 300 data center bills filed across 30-plus states in the current session, according to legislative tracking firm MultiState. The shared concern is energy cost. Data centers could consume up to 12% of total US electricity by 2028, according to the US Department of Energy.
On March 25, Senator Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act in Congress, which would impose a nationwide freeze on all new data center construction until Congress passes AI safety legislation.
The Trump administration has pursued a different path from the legislative approach being taken in states. On March 4, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed the White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a voluntary commitment by hyperscalers to fund their own power generation rather than pass grid costs to ratepayers.
The pledge, published in the Federal Register on March 9, carries no penalties for noncompliance or auditing requirements.
What it means for enterprise IT
Power availability is already becoming a deciding factor in where data centers can be built. Maine’s moratorium sharpens that constraint further.
“Maine’s approach reflects a different mindset — instead of relying on assurances, it creates space to pause and examine the situation properly,” Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research, said, adding voluntary pledges are unlikely to slow regulatory momentum. “A voluntary pledge says what companies plan to do, but it does not guarantee anything. There is no enforcement, no consistent way to verify outcomes, and no clear accountability if expectations are not met. For policymakers, that leaves too many open questions.”
Gogia said the legislation reflects a structural shift in how site selection must now be approached. “It is no longer enough to ask where power exists. The real question is whether it can be delivered when needed,” he said. “Site selection is no longer just a technology or cost decision. It is tied to energy systems and policy realities.”
For CIOs managing long-term colocation contracts or AI infrastructure buildout, Gogia warned that risk is easy to underestimate. “Capacity can still be contracted, but its delivery may depend on factors still in motion — grid upgrades, approvals, equipment timelines. None of these is fully under the control of the provider or the customer,” he said, advising CIOs to build geographic spread and contract flexibility into infrastructure planning now.
If Mills signs the bill, Maine will be the first state to impose such a restriction. If she vetoes it, the measure returns to the legislature, where the margin of passage suggests it could survive an override. Her decision is expected in the coming days.