Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I N O. X I I J U N E 1 4 , 2 0 2 1 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E NonprofitMaine.org/PowertheCommonGood #NonprofitsWorkForME 1 IN Maine workers 100,000 100,000 6 employed Maine nonprofit jobs in Maine That's over by a is Gain access to unlimited articles & lists for download Access to print and digital editions, website content, email newsletters, and downloadable business lists, plus events discounts! MAINEBIZ.BIZ/PRINTSUB Become a premium member of Mainebiz today to receive unlimited access! From paper mill to data center, Millinocket set for transition B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n A $300 million data center will be the anchor and first tenant at the former Millinocket mill site, a major milestone for the redevelop- ment effort that looks to become a center for innovation and new forest industry products. California-based Nautilus Data Technologies has signed a 99-year lease with site owner Our Katahdin. The center will be built on 13 acres of the 1,400-acre property, and engineer- ing, permitting and development will begin immediately, officials said. The first phase of the center is expected to open by late 2022, and when it's fully built will feature 84,000 square feet of data space with plans to expand to 60 megawatts of critical IT load. The project was announced at an event June 5. Local officials characterized the announcement as a new beginning for a region that is trying to find its economic footing after the mill closed in 2008, followed by the Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket in 2013. Since Our Katahdin bought the property in January 2018 for $1 from Cate Street Capital, the nonprofit has invested $8 million in infrastructure with the goal of luring a data center, as well as commercial and industrial manufactur- ers, forest product-based startups and other businesses that need the land and access to power and water the site provides. "A data center is an excellent fit for our multi-use industrial site," said Sean Dewitt, president of Our Katahdin. "The site is uniquely positioned to provide ready access to affordable 100% renewable power, gravity-fed water and resilient multi-point access to fiber broadband networks." Great Northern Paper began production in 1902 and at its peak was the world's largest producer of newsprint. After the mill closures, Our Katahdin was formed to find ways to boost and diversify the region's economy. Nautilus Data Technologies has developed an environmentally innovative data center design — TRUE, for Total Resource Usage Effectiveness — that uses closed-water loop technology for cooling, trimming carbon emissions by 30% and cutting water reduction by 100%, the company said. Data centers use a lot of water to cool their processing systems, which generate intense heat. The technology creates no pollution from refrigerants or chemicals, and doesn't harm terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, the company said. It also enables the widespread availability of high-performance computing for computer-intensive applications, said Nautilus CEO Jim Connaughton. "We will create one of the most efficient, greenest and most socially respon- sible data centers in the world," he said. The infrastructure buildout at the former mill site was funded by a $5.36 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and included improvements to the onsite power grid, data transmission, sewer and water systems, roads and rail. The grant was awarded in 2018, but wasn't accessible until 2019, when a tax lien on the former owners was resolved. Infrastructure funding also includes a $1.34 million financing commitment from Maine Rural Development Authority and Maine Technology Institute, final- ized in June 2020; $850,000 from the EPA; $216,000 from Maine Development Foundation; and $200,000 from Northern Borders Regional Commission. B I Z M O N E Y Could Millinocket become a data hub?

• Cover