PORTLAND — The city took a step toward regulating data centers on Monday.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a data center consumes 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial office building.

Because of their high water and power demands, several municipalities in Maine, such as Gorham and Saco, have enacted temporary bans on the centers while officials determine the best way to regulate them.  

On Monday, the Portland city council unanimously voted to request that the city’s director of Planning and Urban Development to amend land use rules to "address the development of data centers."  

Councilor Pious Ali, who sponsored the measure, said he brought it forward so the planning board could advise the council on how to best treat data centers. This could be regulating where they can be developed, restricting their size, not regulating them at all or even banning them entirely. This is a first step, though, and the specifics of the regulations, if the planner decides to regulate them at all, are currently unclear.

“We have seen how it is going on in other parts of the country,” Ali said.  

Communities across the U.S. are calling for their states and cities to regulate or even ban data centers as well. These efforts have been seen in New York, Kentucky and Texas.  

Portland resident and computer programmer Paul Caruso told the council that the city should regulate data centers to prevent this kind of resource and worker exploitation.

“Even if you indulge in generative AI use, I would think that it would benefit you to take a similar position to me,” Caruso said. “A position that requires these centers to discuss and preemptively address how they will handle these issues before they force their data centers onto our communities.”

Not all communities are against allowing data centers. In April, Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to ban data centers in the state because the residents of Jay wanted such a center in their community.