Sanford, ME
Sanford Woods Industrial and Technical Campus
Northern New England Energy Company · Status uncertain
Proposed 1,060-acre "Sanford Woods Industrial and Technical Campus" along the Mousam River in south Sanford, publicly detailed in February 2026. The developer, Northern New England Energy Company, is a distinct entity from Northern New England Energy Corporation, the Vermont utility subsidiary of Energir, which has confirmed it has no connection to this project. Reported proposed capacity has ranged from 100-300 MW; no site plan, capacity commitment, or cooling details have been published, so no water-use estimate is shown. A three-month emergency moratorium on new data-center permits, imposed by the Sanford City Council on May 19, 2026, has since paused the project, though city officials describe it as still active.
Estimated water use
EstimateNo published facility capacity (MW) is available yet. No estimate is shown without a published figure.
Lifecycle timeline
ObservedConfirmed events only, each with its source.
February 18, 2026
Project details publicly reported
Local and regional press reported new details of the proposed Sanford Woods campus, including its scale (1,060 acres) and reported capacity range (100-300 MW), after town officials and the developer disclosed more information.
SourceMay 19, 2026
Sanford City Council imposes emergency data-center moratorium
Council voted unanimously for a 91-day emergency moratorium pausing acceptance, approval, or issuance of permits for any large-scale data center proposal in the city, effective immediately through Aug. 12, 2026. Followed the state veto-override failure; the city announced a task force to review municipal data-center regulations.
Source
Observed hydrologic data
ObservedFrom nearby USGS and NOAA monitoring stations, refreshed monthly. Dashed lines mark lifecycle milestones.
Groundwater level (ft below surface)
2 stations, overlaid
Regulatory records
ObservedWater permits and environmental compliance records from EPA ECHO.
No permit or compliance record from these sources currently matches this facility. Maine and Rhode Island permit lists are not yet among this site's tracked sources.
Drawdown story
AssessmentIs the water table's behavior near this facility consistent with its estimated draw — and how strong is the evidence? A fixed rubric, recomputed monthly; every number below is stored with the inputs that produced it. Method: attribution-v1.
1 · Pathway
This facility is supplied by a public water system — its estimated draw lands on that system's sources, not this local water table.
2 · Detectability
Expected drawdown at the nearest monitored well could not be computed (no water-use estimate is available).
3 · Signal
No monitored well within 2 miles of this facility — there is no near-field record to compare against controls.
No local withdrawal pathway — estimated draw does not reach this water table directly.
Attribution evidence score: withheld · as of 2026-07-22 · attribution-v1