Maine’s legislature has passed the nation’s first statewide moratorium on energy-hungry data centers. It's an expansion of political opposition to tech giants’ massive artificial

The bill would block new data centers that draw more than 20 megawatts of power until the fall of 2027. It also calls to study their impact on the electrical grid.

The Maine legislature passed the first state ban in the nation on the development of large data centers on Tuesday. The temporary measure, which lasts for 1.5 years, restricts the construction of new

This ban passed in spite of—or perhaps because of—relatively low data center activity in Maine. Business Insider maps likely data centers construction by tracking permit requests for certain generators,

Maine’s state legislature passed a temporary statewide ban on data centers, the first of its kind in the nation, as opposition to the electricity-consuming technology infrastructure designed to power artificial intelligence grows.

Lawmakers have passed a temporary ban on large new data centers in Maine, sending the plan to the governor's desk.

The bill, LD 307, would create a temporary limitation on data centers with electric loads of at least 20 megawatts by preventing the state, local governments and quasi-governmental agencies from issuing permits or other approvals until November 2027.