Brunswick is among several Maine municipalities considering moratoriums on large-scale data centers after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily restricted such developments.
At a Monday night meeting, Brunswick’s town councilors set a June 1 public hearing on the proposed moratorium. If passed, the moratorium would give the town 180 days to gather information on the impact of data centers and set regulations on their development.
The drafted moratorium closely mirrors other temporary policies being considered in towns and cities including Westbrook, which uses the same law firm as Brunswick.
Town councilors on Monday removed a section in the draft moratorium that defined data centers as having a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 megawatts. Instead, data center projects with an electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or more would be prohibited during the moratorium period.
Brunswick has an existing, smaller-scale data center on Brunswick Landing, owned by internet company FirstLight, that town leaders have said has not been an issue and does not store artificial intelligence data.
Town Manager Julia Henze said Monday night that there are no proposals for data centers on the horizon for Brunswick, but a moratorium would give the council time to update town ordinances and be prepared for such projects.
Other municipalities, including Sanford and Scarborough, are considering data center moratoriums in response to already proposed projects.
Data centers house computers to store data and run online applications and services. They have existed for decades, but new developments in artificial intelligence technology have exponentially increased demand for the sites.
Proponents argue that the facilities can create jobs, lower local tax burdens and drive economic growth in Maine; opponents argue that they suck up resources like water and electricity, driving up utility bills and polluting the surrounding environment.
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