Mills Establishes Data Center Advisory Council Amid Backlash Following Her Veto

Gov. Janet Mills established a new “Maine Data Center Advisory Council” with an executive order on Friday following backlash from her own party over her decision to veto a controversial moratorium on data center construction.

[RELATED: Maine Lawmakers Uphold Mills’ Surprise Veto of AI Datacenter Moratorium…]

“It is necessary, important and urgent that the State plan for potential impacts of large-scale data centers on our state, given the serious conversations about them here and around the country. Through this order, this work starts today,” said Gov. Mills.

“I look forward to this Council’s work to examine the serious questions and concerns about data center development in Maine and provide recommendations about how best to protect our environment and ratepayers while providing for responsible economic development that benefits communities,” she added.

Mills’ order came just hours after the majority of state representatives voted to overturn her veto of LD 307 but failed to meet the two-thirds majority required to force the bill through despite Mills’ opposition. The bill would have placed a moratorium on new data center construction in the state.

The order establishes an advisory council that will be required to provide input on and evaluate policy related to data centers.

“The Council shall evaluate issues related to large-scale data centers located or proposed to be located in the State, with the goals of protecting ratepayers, maintaining electric grid reliability, minimizing environmental impacts, and enabling responsible and appropriately sited economic development,” says the order.

The council will be required to evaluate data center projects in light of the state’s green energy and environmental policies. The council will ultimately provide a strategic report to the legislature.

It will be composed of members from a variety of governmental offices and industries and groups.

The order also instructs the Department of Energy Resources and the Maine Public Utilities Commission to work to prevent data center development from increasing costs for energy ratepayers.

Mills does not have a strong track record on energy policy and has overseen massive increases in costs for ratepayers, driven in large part by her green-energy policies, through programs such as net energy billing, which forces everyday ratepayers to subsidize those with solar panels.