US data center firm Sentinel Data Centers has reportedly dropped plans for a data center in Maine.

First reported by Sun Journal, the company has backed off plans to develop a data center at a former paper mill in Jay, a town in Maine’s Franklin County.

JGT2 Redevelopment, which had been planning to partner with Sentinel on the $550 million project, informed Jay officials that Sentinel does not now intend to move forward with the project.

“JGT2 is pursuing conversations with other interested parties, but the data center project is currently on hold,” Jay officials posted on Facebook this week. “Future plans are yet to be determined.”

The Androscoggin Mill was opened in 1965 for International Paper. Formerly one of Maine’s major employers, the site shut down in 2023 after an explosion damaged equipment.

Sentinel was reportedly set to develop some 1 million sq ft (92,905 sqm) of colocation data center space in the building across two floors.

Local officials had backed the project, and work was set to start in the summer.

Established in 2001, Sentinel Data Centers develops build-to-suit data centers across the US, and has developed more than 3 million sq ft of data center space. On its website, Sentinel lists current developments in Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, and Washington.

JGT2 purchased the mill property in December 2023 and has since demolished a number of buildings at the site in preparation for redevelopment.

April saw the Governor of Maine, Janet Mills, veto a bill that would have enacted the first statewide moratorium on data centers in the US. An attempt to override the veto by the state house failed to muster enough votes.

DCD did a deep dive into the Maine moratorium in our latest magazine. Read for free here.