One of Maine’s top law firms is pressing legislators to oppose a full ban on the construction of new data centers in a bid to save its clients’ ventures in the state.
Preti Flaherty, an Augusta-based law firm that’s representing companies trying to build data centers in Sanford and Jay, launched social media advertisements targeting legislators late last week, according to Meta’s ad database.
The Legislature is slated to weigh two versions of a bill that would pause approvals for new data centers until November 2027. Through an online campaign called “Next Century Maine,” Preti Flaherty is asking residents of 28 districts to call their representatives to push for a version of the bill with carveouts for projects that are already underway.
Data centers have become political lightning rods after reports that they can drive up utility costs by consuming large amounts of water and power. Local opposition to data centers quickly shut down plans for construction in Wiscasset and Lewiston last year.
The developer of the Jay project told the Bangor Daily News earlier this month that the proposed moratorium would effectively kill the planned data center in the town’s former mill.
Both versions of the bill would pause new projects until a Maine Data Center Coordination Council can be created to regulate new projects for data centers with demand for more than 20 megawatts of electricity. But Republicans and Democrats on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee could not agree on whether to allow ongoing projects to continue uninterrupted, and the committee sent two versions of the bill to the House floor.
Committee Republicans’ version would allow the Public Utilities Commission to exempt certain projects that are already underway ahead of the law’s effective date if they would not materially increase utility costs to consumers. Since the law wouldn’t go into effect until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, this would create a window for more projects to get started. But it could also allow the state a veto over any projects they find will increase prices.
Tony Buxton, senior counsel at Preti Flaherty, said that version of the bill would give the state significant regulatory authority without disrupting ongoing projects. He said the projects the firm represents are small enough that they may decrease energy prices by spreading out charges for fixed costs.
“We need to have increased data center capacity, and it’s going to happen somewhere,” he said. “Reasonably sized projects are probably a good thing for Maine.”
The campaign is targeting 24 Democrats, two Republicans and two unenrolled representatives. All are in the House of Representatives, where Democrats’ slim majority make a floor fight over the bill likely.
Rep. Walter Runte, D-York, sits on the energy committee and voted for the version of the bill with no exemptions. He is also one of the legislators targeted with ads on social media. He voiced concern with the campaign in a Facebook post.
“This is a pseudo advocacy group created by a lobbyist law firm to benefit two of its clients, not some broad based effort to bring sound policy to Maine,” Runte wrote, calling the Republican-backed version of the bill “a needless, rushed, and narrow carve-out for two projects that are far more speculative than advertised.”
Buxton said he was not sure how the 28 legislators were selected for targeted advertising and the goal was to inform all legislators.
Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, said she was aware of the ad targeting her district but had not heard from any constituents. She expressed skepticism toward carveouts, but said there might be room to negotiate.
“If those carveouts for Jay and for Sanford do not involve the kind of vetting that we would ask for other projects, then I would have a problem” with that version of the bill, she said.
As Democrats jostle with Republicans to be viewed as champions of affordability, it’s unclear whether arguments that well regulated data centers may reduce utility bills will stick.
“Literally no one has asked me to prioritize data centers,” Roeder said. “You can lobby me all you want, but if my constituents actually don’t care, or are kind of indifferent to data centers, that’s going to inform my vote more than any sort of paid lobbying would.”
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between the Bangor Daily News and The Maine Monitor, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.