PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 15, 2025
Maine’s first large-scale artificial intelligence data center could open within six months at the former Loring Air Force Base in Aroostook County. Loring LiquidCool Data Center announced a partnership with Green 4 Maine LLC, a development firm that owns much of the old base in Limestone, to launch the AI center. Massive data centers needed for generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT typically require enormous amounts of electricity, putting new strain on power grids. The data center will use a closed-loop system to cool servers with liquid rather than fans and hydropower from New Brunswick. It’s unclear how it will affect Mainers’ electric bills. Other AI-minded data center plans have fizzled out. After announcing plans in 2021, a California company quietly backed out of building a $300 million data center at a shuttered paper mill in Millinocket.