Maine Town Excited about Possible New Data Center

Sept. 25, 2025 – A data center could be built next to the electrical grid infrastructure once used by the former Maine Yankee Atomic Power Plant.

According to a press release from the Wiscasset Selectboard, the town said it was approached by a site assessor interested in opening a facility.

“It is merely an idea in its earliest stages. No formal proposal has been made, no offer to purchase the property has been made,” the Selectboard said. It added that the board had not reached any decisions and had “only been listening.”

Even so, officials described the potential project as a “game-changer” for the region. 

According to local news outlets, Wiscasset Economic Development Director Aaron Chrostowsky said a proposed data center at the Old Ferry Road site could carry a $5 billion valuation and create between 150 and 200 jobs. 

Chrostowsky told the commission that discussions have intensified since December, when plans were still “very speculative, very nascent.” Developers have since begun their own reviews of the site, he said.

“They are spending their own money now to conduct due diligence,” Chrostowsky said and pointed to contracts with engineering firms for wetland surveys, environmental reviews and power studies on the property.

The Selectboard said it would be a disservice to dismiss the idea without gathering more information.

The announcement comes as more companies seek power agreements tied to nuclear reactors to meet rising electricity demand. Tech firms such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have signed deals to eventually run campuses directly on nuclear energy, while projects like the planned reopening of Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island plant highlight the trend. TMI is now called the Crane Clean Energy Center.

The press release did not specify what role the former Maine Yankee plant might play in such an arrangement.