As massive amounts of land are being acquired for AI data center expansion across the US, at least one state is hoping to slow down the construction boom, after numerous protests and calls from politicians.
On Tuesday, Maine lawmakers passed a bill that would put a moratorium on the building of new data centers that require more than 20 megawatts of power until October 2027. The pause would give the state time to determine the effects that large data centers have on the energy grid, local utilities and the surrounding environment, Reuters reports.
The bill still needs to be approved by Gov. Janet Mills. Her office did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.
As artificial intelligence continues to find its way into every part of our lives, data centers are on the rise — and they’re getting bigger. Meta is spending $27 billion to build a data center in Louisiana on more than 3,600 acres. Amazon is spending $25 billion to build more in Mississippi. And that’s just a drop in the bucket.
The size of the data centers isn’t the only concern, though. It’s also the colossal amount of electricity they consume to run the centers and the water used to cool them.
Residents living near data centers have also complained about noise and light pollution.
With the exponential growth, public outcry has erupted from communities where data centers are still being built, as well as from politicians like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who previously proposed a bill that would pause all data center construction. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley have also called for greater transparency surrounding data centers.
If Gov. Mills signs the bill, it could set a precedent for other US states grappling with how to regulate the rapid development of AI instruction, especially given that the Trump Administration has pushed for an acceleration of data center construction. Gov. Mills has 10 days to make her decision.
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