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Data center project · York County, Maine

Sanford Woods Industrial and Technical Campus

Paused by moratorium · A 1,060-acre campus pitched to legislators in February 2026 as a 100-300 MW data center plus a fuel-cell power plant, greenhouse and cold storage, now on hold under a city moratorium.

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Status
Paused by moratorium · as of Aug. 4, 2026
Location
South Sanford, along the Mousam River · York County
Status note
Sanford's citizen-proposed moratorium, extended to Jan. 31, 2027, halts the data center while a city task force drafts standards.
Power
300 MW
Co-developer Randy Gibbs told legislators the data center would be 100 to 300 MW (upper value stored), fed by a separate 300 MW fuel-cell plant; Sen. Matt Harrington cited the same range. Neither figure comes from a permit or utility record.
Land
1,060 acres
Investment
About $2.16 billion for the whole campus, as tallied by the city manager
Developer and team
New England Energy (Randy Gibbs and Walt Bussells)
Utility
Developers say the campus would run off the grid on its own fuel-cell plant, burning natural gas at first and hydrogen within five years.
Water
Up to 300,000 gallons a day for the whole campus, per the developers; the Sanford Water District superintendent told lawmakers the district could supply it.
Evidence
News reports; primary records not yet obtained
Size class
50 MW or more (tracker scope)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.

Updates, newest first

  1. Aug. 4, 2026 The council unanimously extended the moratorium 180 days, to Jan. 31, 2027, while its Industrial Development Standards Task Force reviews city ordinances. (Portland Press Herald, Aug. 5, 2026)
  2. May 12, 2026 The City Council unanimously adopted a citizen-proposed 91-day emergency moratorium on large data center permits; Gibbs wrote that he supported it. (Portland Press Herald, May 18, 2026; Portland Press Herald, Aug. 5, 2026)
  3. Feb. 19, 2026 Co-developers Randy Gibbs and Walt Bussells presented the Sanford Woods campus to the committee, describing a 100-300 MW data center on a campus that would be islanded from the grid. (Sanford Springvale News, Feb. 27, 2026)
  4. Feb. 12, 2026 At a committee work session, Sen. Matt Harrington said a moratorium would harm a 100-300 MW data center planned in his district; the Sanford Water District superintendent later told Maine Public the district had held no pre-application meeting with any data center. (The Maine Monitor (from the Daily Yonder), Feb. 23, 2026; Maine Public, Feb. 16, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • The 100-300 MW and 300 MW figures come from the developers and a legislator; no utility or permit filing was found.
  • The first moratorium was to end Aug. 18; a city agenda copy misprinted the date as Aug. 12, per the Press Herald.

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