Data centers are coming for rural America

"At its peak, the Androscoggin paper mill in Jay, Maine, a rural town about 67 miles northwest of Portland, employed about 1,500 people - until a pulp digester exploded in 2020, forcing the mill to close permanently."

"Over the next three years, McDonald and his team broke down the mill's machinery and shipped it to Pakistan, and worked to clean up the industrial site for resale. That resale agreement was finalized earlier this year, according to McDonald - turning Jay into the latest flashpoint over giant data centers in America."

"Maine is particularly appealing for data center developers for its relatively cool year-round temperatures, lax land-use statutes, and 54 percent renewable energy mix, the eighth highest in the nation. There is a handful of planned data centers around the state, which recently prompted the state legislature to pass a bill ordering an 18-month moratorium on permits and building of any proposed data center that consumes more than 20 megawatts of power."

"But that bill, which would have been the country's first, was vetoed by Maine Gov. Janet Mills last month. In her veto, she cited one overriding reason: jobs. A $550 million facility proposed for the shuttered paper mill in Jay, she argued, would create 125 to 150 permanent, high-paying positions in a town that had watched its largest employer close."

A paper mill in Jay, Maine employed about 1,500 people until a pulp digester explosion in 2020 led to permanent closure. In 2023, a 1.4 million-square-foot facility was purchased through a joint venture led by Tony McDonald, who dismantled machinery, shipped it to Pakistan, and cleaned the industrial site for resale. A resale agreement was finalized earlier this year, positioning Jay as a new flashpoint in the expansion of giant data centers. Maine attracts developers due to cool temperatures, less restrictive land-use rules, and a renewable energy mix. Planned data centers prompted an 18-month permitting moratorium for projects over 20 megawatts, but the governor vetoed it, citing jobs from a proposed $550 million facility.

Read at The Verge