Gray joins growing list of towns with data center moratoriums

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2026

It took less than 10 minutes of debate for the Gray Town Council to unanimously approve a temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers. The moratorium comes in the wake of Gov. Janet Mills’ veto of LD 307, which would have established a first-in-the-nation statewide moratorium on the approval of new data centers lasting until November 2027. Since the failure of LD 307, multiple towns have passed moratoriums, including Gorham, Scarborough, Brunswick, and Westbrook. The Greater Portland Council of Governments released a booklet to serve as a starting point for communities on data center policy, with sample language on conditional data center approval.