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Data centers · Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County

1 project on record · 6 moratorium or ban actions

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Projects in Cumberland County
Scarborough High Technology Industrial ParkDaniel Dickinson (landowner)—Paused by moratoriumJune 3, 2026Under 50 MW

Moratoriums and bans

  1. June 1, 2026 Brunswick: Moratorium. The Town Council unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium covering data centers with demand of 1 MW or more, after dropping a draft threshold of 10,000 square feet or 20 MW; it runs to about December. (Spectrum News Maine, June 8, 2026; WGME, June 2, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 18, 2026)
  2. June 3, 2026 Scarborough: Moratorium. The Town Council unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium, retroactive to applications filed on or after April 1, after a 52-acre data center plan surfaced. (Spectrum News Maine, June 8, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 18, 2026)
  3. June 1, 2026 Westbrook: Moratorium. The council unanimously approved a 180-day pause, effective at once, on permits for new or expanded data centers, though none had been proposed; in September city staff recommended barring standalone data centers outright. (Portland Press Herald, June 1, 2026; Maine Public, May 13, 2026; Portland Press Herald, Sept. 22, 2026)
  4. June 2, 2026 Gorham: Moratorium. The Town Council voted 7-0 for a 180-day moratorium; the ordinance in the meeting packet applies to data centers of 2,500 square feet or more and reaches back to applications pending on June 2. (Town of Gorham, June 2, 2026; The Gorham Times, June 17, 2026; Portland Press Herald, Oct. 6, 2026)
  5. 2026 Gray: Moratorium. Named by the Press Herald in October 2026 among communities that had approved temporary data center bans; no town record or other report giving the vote date or terms was found. (Portland Press Herald, Oct. 6, 2026)
  6. Oct. 6, 2026 Portland: Regulations (proposed). A council committee was set to take up a resolution asking staff and the planning board to draft data center rules; the committee chair said he favors an outright ban. (Portland Press Herald, Oct. 6, 2026)

Updates, newest first

  1. Oct. 6, 2026 Portland: Regulations (proposed) · A council committee was set to take up a resolution asking staff and the planning board to draft data center rules; the committee chair said he favors an outright ban. (Portland Press Herald, Oct. 6, 2026)
  2. Sept. 2026 Scarborough High Technology Industrial Park · Councilors discussed changing the zoning ordinance to bar data centers from every district and set a second hearing for Oct. 21. (Portland Press Herald, Sept. 22, 2026)
  3. June 3, 2026 Scarborough High Technology Industrial Park · The Town Council unanimously passed a 180-day data center moratorium; the developer's lawyer said the first phase had been approved in 2025, while the planning director said a data center was not mentioned until after the governor's veto. (Spectrum News Maine, June 8, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2026)
  4. June 3, 2026 Scarborough: Moratorium · The Town Council unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium, retroactive to applications filed on or after April 1, after a 52-acre data center plan surfaced. (Spectrum News Maine, June 8, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 18, 2026)
  5. June 2, 2026 Gorham: Moratorium · The Town Council voted 7-0 for a 180-day moratorium; the ordinance in the meeting packet applies to data centers of 2,500 square feet or more and reaches back to applications pending on June 2. (Town of Gorham, June 2, 2026; The Gorham Times, June 17, 2026; Portland Press Herald, Oct. 6, 2026)
  6. June 1, 2026 Brunswick: Moratorium · The Town Council unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium covering data centers with demand of 1 MW or more, after dropping a draft threshold of 10,000 square feet or 20 MW; it runs to about December. (Spectrum News Maine, June 8, 2026; WGME, June 2, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 18, 2026)
  7. June 1, 2026 Westbrook: Moratorium · The council unanimously approved a 180-day pause, effective at once, on permits for new or expanded data centers, though none had been proposed; in September city staff recommended barring standalone data centers outright. (Portland Press Herald, June 1, 2026; Maine Public, May 13, 2026; Portland Press Herald, Sept. 22, 2026)
  8. April 2026 Scarborough High Technology Industrial Park · Dickinson filed the master plan on April 20; the planning office returned it as incomplete in late April, citing missing aquifer, historic site and utility-service information. (Maine Public, May 6, 2026; Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2026)
  9. 2026 Gray: Moratorium · Named by the Press Herald in October 2026 among communities that had approved temporary data center bans; no town record or other report giving the vote date or terms was found. (Portland Press Herald, Oct. 6, 2026)

Statewide

LD 307 (HP 207), sponsored by Rep. Melanie Sachs, would have set up a 13-member Data Center Coordination Council and barred state and municipal permits for data centers with a load of 20 MW or more until Nov. 1, 2027. The Senate's final enactment vote on April 14, 2026 was 21-13; Gov. Janet Mills vetoed the bill on April 24, saying she would have signed it with an exemption for the Jay mill project; on April 29 the House voted 72-65 to override, short of two-thirds, so the veto was sustained. (Maine Legislature, April 29, 2026; Office of Gov. Janet T. Mills, April 24, 2026; Portland Press Herald, April 29, 2026; Mainebiz, April 27, 2026) LD 713 (HP 452), signed April 23, 2026 as chapter 768 of the public laws, defines data centers and takes those that begin operating on or after Aug. 1, 2026 out of the Business Equipment Tax Exemption (BETE, Maine's property tax break for most business equipment) and the Dirigo Business Incentives Program. It also has the Department of Economic and Community Development study what other incentives under current law data centers could still use, such as tax increment financing, and report to the Legislature's taxation committee by Nov. 4, 2026. (Maine Legislature, April 23, 2026; Maine Legislature, April 23, 2026; Maine Senate Democrats (press release), April 27, 2026) Executive Order 5 (April 29, 2026) created the Maine Data Center Advisory Council, co-chaired by the commissioners of Energy Resources and Environmental Protection, with a public report and any proposed bills due to the governor and Legislature by Jan. 29, 2027; it also told the Department of Energy Resources to work with the Public Utilities Commission on ways to keep data center costs off other ratepayers. The council's October 2026 working draft, marked as not agency policy, floats ideas such as requiring large data centers to pay for grid upgrades in advance or post security, and requiring projects over 50 MW to buy new clean energy to match their portfolio obligation. (Office of Gov. Janet T. Mills, April 29, 2026; Maine Department of Energy Resources, Oct. 20, 2026; Maine Department of Energy Resources, Oct. 7, 2026) PUC docket 2026-00142, opened May 27, 2026 after a May 20 letter from the Department of Energy Resources, is a commission-initiated informal investigation into the development of large data centers. Central Maine Power, Versant Power, consumer-owned utilities and advocacy groups filed initial comments in June, staff issued an order scheduling a workshop on Aug. 11, and the Unitil gas companies commented on Oct. 2. No large-load tariff case for Central Maine Power or Versant was found in the sources reviewed. (Maine Public Utilities Commission, May 27, 2026; Maine Department of Energy Resources, Oct. 20, 2026) Maine data centers →