<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3aBp9I_1Gzv72dr00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3aBp9I_1Gzv72dr00" width="400" height="225" >GORHAM (WGME) -- Gorham town officials are putting another 180-day pause on the building of any new data centers.Gorham already had a moratorium in place, but it was set to expire this month.At the same time, the town is considering placing a permanent ban on them.Gorham town officials are putting a stop on the production of all data centers for 180 days amid fears one could be built there soon.The 2024 data center moratorium has been extended to May of 2027, while the town still looks into a permanent ban.Gorham is not alone in the moratorium phase -- Hallowell, Buxton, Bucksport and nine other communities have put restrictions in place.“Changes to air quality or zoning to the local communities, these giant kinds of buildings that take away options for local housing,” University of Maine Professor of New Media Jon Ippolito said.Ippolito says another issue communities have with data centers is electricity use.“Whether AI that's being run in these data centers uses a lot of electricity depends on how you use it,” Ippolito said. “So if you generate an email with it, with like a one-shot prompt, it's actually not very much. It's like the equivalent of running a standard light bulb for three minutes.”Meanwhile, he suggests it is time to rethink the entire purpose and realistic demand of the data industry.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2QUlFf_1Gzv72dr00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2QUlFf_1Gzv72dr00" width="800" height="450" >“I think that if we look a little closer at the industry, we'll actually find that even for some of the valid uses or productive uses of AI, we don't need a lot more data centers, even though they're being kind of pushed by the industry,” Ippolito said.Gorham town officials say they do not have any applications currently for a data center in town.</div></body>

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GORHAM (WGME) -- Gorham town officials are putting another 180-day pause on the building of any new data centers. Gorham already had a moratorium in place, but it was set to expire this month. At the same time, the town is considering placing a permanent ban on them. Gorham town...

Gorham town officials approve another 180-day pause on new data centers

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GORHAM (WGME) -- Gorham town officials are putting another 180-day pause on the building of any new data centers. Gorham already had a moratorium in place,

Gorham town officials approve another 180-day pause on new data centers

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