Apr 18, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
The US’ first statewide data center moratorium has been approved by the Maine legislature. LD307 passed the House in early April and was approved by the Senate yesterday. Sponsored by Democrat Melanie Sachs, the bill imposes a temporary moratorium on state authorities accepting applications for data centers with capacities exceeding 20MW.
During the 18-month moratorium period, the impacts of data centers would be studied, stricter controls would be introduced, and the government would establish a “Maine Data Center Coordination Council” to “provide strategic input, facilitate coordinated state planning considerations, and evaluate policy tools to address data center opportunities.” If enacted, the bill could affect plans by Northern New England Energy Company to build a new data center campus with a projected capacity of 100–300MW.
Although the bill has not yet received approval from Maine Governor Janet Mills—and in the US, state legislation typically requires both legislative approval and the governor’s signature to become law—it is being viewed as a win for advocates calling for greater state-level oversight of the data center industry. While moratoriums have long been used at the local level, lawmakers in several states, including Minnesota, New York, Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont, Oklahoma, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan, have also introduced proposals calling for statewide bans or restrictions on new developments.
