Maine governor vetoes first-in-US datacenter moratorium, cites Jay project exemption

Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill that would have frozen new large datacenters (>20 MW) until 2027 to study the grid and electricity costs, saying she supports a temporary moratorium but requires an exemption for the Jay project; she will instead push an executive order to form a council to study impacts and has barred datacenters from certain business tax incentives. The Jay site is expected to bring hundreds of construction and permanent jobs and significant tax revenue, illustrating the clash between investment and energy costs in a rural state, while several states nationally weigh similar limits on AI datacenter growth.