The construction of new data centers has attracted a lot of attention around the country, and here in Maine. Large data centers, whether they’re built to support artificial intelligence (AI) development, cryptocurrency mining, or other purposes, can have sizeable impacts on surrounding communities, including the use of enormous amounts of electricity.
An AI data center under construction in Ohio
While other states have seen AI data center development proposals that are larger in both size and quantity than what has been proposed in Maine so far, it is clear that AI data centers could be a significant source of strain on the electricity system if the proper guardrails are not put in place.
But if Maine approaches data center development responsibly, it could present an opportunity for innovative approaches to accelerate Maine’s clean energy transition, keep rates affordable for families and businesses, and implement dynamic flexible energy management across the state, all while delivering benefits for local towns that put less strain on budgets.
Maine legislators are considering a bill that will create a Maine Artificial Intelligence Data Center Coordination Council (LD 307). This group will be charged with developing recommendations to ensure data centers in Maine are built responsibly, with careful consideration given to impacts on energy costs, environmental and natural resource impacts, data transparency, and more.
As clean energy experts at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, we testified in support of the new data center council proposal and laid out four key considerations for policymakers to use in developing a framework for data center development:
1. Consider AI data centers as a distinct class of customer.
Because of the potential of AI data centers to massively and rapidly appropriate limited and increasingly expensive transmission and distribution (T&D) capacity and electricity supplies, they should be defined as a distinct customer type by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
As an example, Minnesota recently enacted a bill that directs the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to establish a new “very large customer class” to ensure that all costs associated with serving data centers will not be passed on to other electricity customers (like homeowners or local businesses).
This new data center customer type should include a new regulatory framework focused on 1) mitigating impacts on Maine’s electrical system; 2) providing net benefits to Maine electricity customers; 3) minimizing local environmental impacts; 4) providing local economic benefits; and 5) advancing Maine’s clean energy transition.
2. Provide net benefits to Maine electricity customers.
AI data center proposals should be subject to a comprehensive ratepayer impact analysis and be required to pay for T&D infrastructure upgrades associated with interconnecting to the grid. Mainers should not be paying for the infrastructure needed to support any new data centers.
Proposed projects should also be required to provide 100% new and additional sources of clean energy, on-site and off-site. These facilities could also employ dynamic, flexible demand management strategies, better utilizing existing system headroom and supporting development of a market for demand-side aggregation in Maine.
3. High standards for the climate and environment.
Projects should be required to conduct a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions analysis, to ensure consistency with Maine’s climate and clean energy policies and avoid the experience happening elsewhere where data center development has been paired with large diesel backup generators, creating toxic air pollution and noise for neighbors and local towns. Projects should also be held to the highest standards for operational energy efficiency, water use, and natural resource conservation.
4. Shared economic benefits in host communities.
Projects should be required to conduct robust community outreach, operate transparently without the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), establish community benefits agreements with host communities, and pay fair wages in their construction and operations phases.
Because we are fortunate that large AI data centers with major electricity system impacts have not yet been built in Maine, we are encouraging lawmakers to establish a moratorium on approving large data center projects until a policy framework and guardrails can be put into place to protect Maine people and their environment by the proposed council.
Given the deep pockets of the large tech companies behind the data center boom, and the risk of overspeculation in data center development, Maine should absolutely not lower its standards for climate action or environmental protection when it comes to these projects, nor should electricity customers be asked to subsidize these large companies’ access to our limited electricity system resources.
Maine should take advantage of the opportunity to get ahead of the data center game by adopting policies that ensure local families and businesses are not only unharmed by AI data center development but could see benefits.
—Jack Shapiro, NRCM Climate & Clean Energy Director
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