Owner of Jay Mill wants exemption from data center proposal, Melanie Sachs says NO!
A data center is being planned for the Jay Mill, but a proposal in the legislature to pause data center projects could stop this project
The Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would put a temporary moratorium on data centers in Maine.
"The reason for the temporary limitation is to make sure that the transparency that communities need, that the regulatory framework for these businesses is known and certain," said Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport.
Sachs is the bill's sponsor. She said that this is an attempt to make sure Maine is ready for these types of centers and is focused on the infrastructure needed for these facilities.
The owner of the Jay Mill is preparing to break ground on a new data center at the mill this summer, but if the legislature passes it, that could throw a wrench in that plan.
"When we set out to redevelop the, we looked at the existing electrical infrastructure there, which is very robust because of the paper mill. There's a lot of power there. So what we're proposing to do is really a plug-and-play. We just using that existing infrastructure," said the mill's owner, Tony McDonald.
McDonald wants an exemption from the legislature, which would require an amendment.
The committee's minority report includes exemptions, the majority report does not. It's not clear which report will get votes in the chambers.
This bill could get votes on the floors of the House and Senate as early as Thursday.
Views: 7
Comment
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Comment by Dan McKay 3 hours ago
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The favorite energy source to provide data centers with electricity is currently natural gas plant. The Jay mill has an onsite, large natural gas-fired plant and hydro resources nearby.
Sachs isn't worried about ratepayers, she is worried that data centers will be the drivers behind expanding natural gas pipelines that would enable the elimination of the renewable industry that currently drives the steep rise in electricity costs along with natural gas pipeline constraints.
Natural gas is the bridge fuel to nuclear. Data Centers will move the electricity market towards reliable 24/7/365 electricity.
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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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