The data center boom meets resistance in Maine as lawmakers pass a yearlong moratorium

apnews

·

Original Report

↗ apnews

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine is set to impose the nation’s first statewide moratorium on energy-hungry data centers in a sign of growing political opposition to tech giants’ massive structures that have stoked fears about blackouts, rising electricity bills and voracious water needs. The legislation arose in a state that isn’t necessarily a destination for the computer-stocked warehouses that power artificial intelligence, but a couple of proposals there generated intense community backlash and