Data centers designed to power immensely resource-intensive AI models have turned into a major point of contention. The sweeping facilities have proven immensely unpopular, particularly in rural areas, where they’ve been accused of causing electricity prices to spike.
Companies are spending billions of dollars on the computing infrastructure, despite ongoing concerns over environmental effects and power grid stability.
Now, new legislation in Maine is expected to freeze the construction of new data centers that consume at least 20 megawatts — enough to power about 15,000 homes — in the state until at least November 2027, as the Wall Street Journal reports, pending environmental and grid assessments.
The bill was passed by the Maine House of Representatives last month and is expected to pass in the Senate as well, which would make Maine the first state in the country to ban new data centers. The unprecedented move highlights growing bipartisan political fallout over the AI hype and consequent construction boom.
The political momentum shouldn’t be too surprising. As Heatmap News points out, Maine has already seen electricity prices surge almost 60 percent between 2021 and 2026. Major data centers could place an additional strain on the grid and potentially add to the problem.
The bill will also likely be closely watched by ten other states that are also weighing similar policies, per the WSJ. Other states, including New York, South Carolina, and Oklahoma, have already introduced similar measures.
“I think Maine is the canary in the coal mine,” Associated Builders and Contractors economist Anirban Basu told the WSJ. “Maine will be the first of many states to have such moratoria.”
The news comes two weeks after senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a new policy aimed at curbing new AI data center construction, a subject they say is “affecting everything from our economy and wellbeing to our democracy, warfare and our kids’ education.”
Over 200 environmental groups have urged Congress to do the same.
The growing backlash over the AI-fueled data center frenzy will more than likely prove extremely polarizing during this year’s midterm elections. As the Financial Times reports, major tech industries are backing lobbying groups with hundreds of millions of dollars to sway public opinion on AI regulation.
Meanwhile, legislators on both sides of the aisle are waking up to a new “political reality.”
“There is a very strong voter fear of data centers and AI,” legal firm Preti Flaherty climate and energy attorney Tony Buxton told the WSJ.
More on data centers: Groups Set Up to Shill AI and Data Centers Are Pouring Huge Sums of Money Into the Midterm Elections
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