All posts tagged: Moratorium

Maine Governor Vetos Data Center Moratorium, Citing Job Creation And Economic Growth

Published by Jenni Sidey

Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have temporarily limited the development of large data centers across Maine, despite expressing support for a broader pause on such projects, according to Maine’s website. The governor said she would have approved the legislation if it had included an exemption for a $550 million data center redevelopment already underway at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay, a project backed by local officials and seen as critical to economic recovery in the region. Mills emphasized that while a moratorium makes sense due to concerns about environmental impact and rising electricity costs seen in other states, the bill in its final form failed to account for the Jay project’s potential benefits. The redevelopment is expected to bring hundreds of construction jobs, create at least 100 permanent positions, and restore a major portion of the town’s lost tax base following the mill’s closure in 2023. The site says that Mills plans to move forward with an executive order to study the impact of large-scale data centers in Maine. …

Maine’s governor vetoes data center moratorium

Published by skeptic

Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have temporarily brought permits for new data centers to a halt. If it had become law, L.D. 307 would have imposed the country’s first statewide moratorium on new data centers — lasting, in this case, until November 1, 2027. The bill also called for the creation of a 13-person council to study and make recommendations on data center construction. With public opposition to data centers rising, other states including New York have considered similar moratoriums. In a letter to the state legislature, Mills — a Democrat currently running for the U.S. Senate — said that pausing new data centers would be “appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates” and that she “would have signed this bill” if it had included an exemption for a data center project in the Town of Jay. That project, Mills said, “enjoys strong local support from its host community and region.” Melanie Sachs, a Democratic state representative who sponsored …

Nation’s First State Moratorium on Data Centers Vetoed by Maine’s Governor

Published by Sam Flores

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Democratic governor on Friday vetoed what would have been the country’s first state moratorium on the construction of data centers. The bill passed by the Democrat-controlled state legislature would have instituted a moratorium for more than a year on data centers above a certain size and created a special council to help towns vet potential projects. But Gov. Janet Mills said she vetoed the bill because it failed to include a carve out for a project in the town of Jay that would bring needed jobs to a community that has struggled since the closure of a local mill. Proposals to impose a moratorium on data centers have been introduced in at least a dozen states, but other than Maine’s, none had even passed a legislative chamber. Such bills have faced opposition from data center developers, chambers of commerce, tech giants, labor unions and electric utilities. Mills said she plans to issue an executive order to create a council to examine the impact of data centers. “I believe it necessary …

Maine legislature approves first US moratorium on big data centers

Published by Sam Flores

(Refiles to add media packaging code, with no changes to text) WASHINGTON, April 14 : Maine lawmakers have passed a bill that could make it the first U.S. state to put a moratorium on new data centers as opposition to the electricity-hungry facilities grows across the country over their impact on household energy bills and the environment. The bill, which still needs final approval from Democratic Governor Janet Mills, would freeze approvals for data centers requiring more than 20 megawatts of power until October 2027, while a state-appointed council analyzes their impact on the local grid, electricity bills, air and water. The bill passed the House 79-62, clearing the Senate 21-13 later the same day. Governor Mills’ office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday. Mills has insisted on an exemption for a smaller-scale project that has been under development, which reuses existing infrastructure that would not have a major impact on the electric grid or energy bills. Maine will serve as a test case for other states that have …

Judy Chicago Says Massive Google Artwork Failed Due to ‘Moratorium’

Published by Jenni Sidey

For just about any artist, a major, permanent public commission from a giant global corporation might seem like great news. The artist might expect big budgets, massive exposure, and a ribbon-cutting with the mayor and CEO. Even Judy Chicago, an icon of feminist art who has had solo exhibitions at institutions from New York’s New Museum to San Francisco’s de Young Museum and whose massive piece The Dinner Party (1974–79) is on permanent view at the Brooklyn Museum, anticipated a “great and historic project,” writes the artist at Artnet News, when Google commissioned her to do a public artwork as part of the multimillion-dollar renovation of the Thompson Center, a historic building in downtown Chicago, the artist’s home town and namesake. (An art dealer gave the artist, born Judith Cohen, her nickname, and it stuck.) The company touts the works of public art on its campuses, not to mention its giant Google Arts & Culture project, where people hungry for knowledge can learn about museums and art history and even play games designed by artists. …

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