Columnist Jim Fossel’s recent statement that Maine has “nothing to fear by welcoming data centers” (April 5) is not grounded in fact. He’s even opposed to moratoriums enacted to merely study the ramifications of building these centers.    

The size of some data centers at several thousand acres is hard to imagine. We have lots of land in Maine, but is this the highest and best use of that land? Fossel believes that these centers “fit with our values.” It fits our values to use enormous amounts of water and electricity that’s generated by burning fossil fuels?

According to the International Energy Association, “by 2030 U.S. data centers will consume more electricity than all of the country’s heavy industries — cement, steel, chemical, car and other industrial facilities put together. Data center emissions could more than double by 2030, becoming one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gases in the world.” By Fossel’s own analysis, the larger data centers use 30% more electricity than the city of Portland does in a year. 

Perhaps the strongest reason to pause and study this issue is the fact that building these structures will divert electricians, plumbers and carpenters, already in short supply, from building desperately needed housing for Mainers. Once built, however, these centers typically only employ a few dozen people.  

The Maine “brand” is wholesome, outdoors, stunningly beautiful, peppered with lighthouses and lobster fishing boats. If we lose that, we have killed the “goose that lays the golden egg.” 

Massive data centers don’t fit that brand and they don’t belong in Maine.  

Mary Ann Larson
Bangor