It isn't going to happen, but a data center eyed by a man with a Boothbay tie stood to bring to Wiscasset millions of dollars in taxes and about 1,700-2,300 temporary construction jobs and 100-200 permanent jobs, and would have required upgrades to roads, fiber and other infrastructure, and required some more land, according to claims in nearly a year's worth of documents just released. 

The newly released documents include a presentation dated Aug. 19, 2025, the day the town entered a non-disclosure agreement with Boundless Power, LLC. The NDA, the presentation and more were released publicly this Aug. 19 on request, and at wiscasset.gov 

This Aug. 19 was the NDA's expiration date. Now the town can and, on a Freedom of Access Act request from Wiscasset Newspaper, immediately did, release the NDA. Wiscasset Newspaper made a Freedom of Access Act request to the town clerk and, at 5:51 p.m., Economic Development Director Aaron Chrostowsky emailed Wiscasset Newspaper a link to the NDA and other documents related to the data center inquiry. "(These are) materials that are not subject to confidentiality provisions under Maine law," Chrostowsky wrote. He said the documents had been protected under the now expired NDA. View it all at https://www.wiscasset.gov/283/NDA-Protected-Documents-Between-Boundles

Last October, Wiscasset Newspaper reported on a redacted version of the NDA it received on request. The unredacted one shows the long unnamed party in the NDA is Boundless Power, LLC of Manhattan Beach, California. The LLC's managing partner Fred Robinson signed the NDA and, before and after that, exchanged a series of emails with Chrostowsky; Robinson's early contacts with the town were when he was with BayWa r.e. Americas in Irving, California.

In his earliest writings to the town, Robinson said his family has a house in Boothbay.

Robinson confirmed Aug. 20, he is no longer pursuing an Old Ferry Road data center. Responding to Wiscasset Newspaper's emailed questions, Robinson said, "We are not pursuing the project anymore. The town decided late last year they did not want to proceed further ... with the discussions and we respect that decision."

Asked for any comment on how the town responded to his inquiry, from the outset, onward, Robinson said: "The town was professional throughout. Officials clearly understand the property and the infrastructure surrounding it, and they did the kind of diligence you'd expect on an unsolicited opportunity. Discussions were paused before anything reached the stage of a formal proposal."

Emails dating to late 2024 showed Robinson voicing interest in Wiscasset-owned property. In a Nov. 7, 2024 email that referred to him as chief executive officer of BayWa r.e., Robinson wrote, "Congrats on the Birch Point and Mason Station sites being selected for the Maine Community Energy Redevelopment Program. My family has a house in Boothbay and I always thought these locations had a lot of potential. I wanted to reach out and express my interest in exploring opportunities to develop these sites. I think the Mason Station site has a lot of potential for Al focused data centers. We have a close partnership with a firm developing these sites and would be happy to discuss with you.

"I am sure you get a lot of solicitations about these properties so let me know if we can be of service or how we can participate should you choose to take them out to market," Robinson told Chrostowsky.

Correspondence continued with questions and answers from both, including this May 2025 exchange:

Chrostowsky: The proposed data center's power load demand needs are massive; you stated the proposed data center demands a power load demand of around 7,500 GWH/year. However, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Maine Electricity Profile for 2023, the state's annual net generating capacity is 12,500 GWH/year. The proposed data center would consume around 60% of the state's annual electricity.

Currently, the Maine power grid is generally inadequate to deliver the power consumption scale you describe at this time. Even Wiscasset, with the underutilized infrastructure and CMP's recent improvements to the Maine Yankee substation, this project will likely require more improvements to the region's transmission network, at whose cost? Ratepayers? Have you conducted a power study for this project?

Please share with us the power supply study or any documentation that you have showing the power grid will meet the power demands of the proposed data center. Have you requested a load request from the local utility? What is the status?

Robinson: We have conducted a preliminary study using our internal tools that shows sufficient capacity on the transmission lines. This analysis will be further assessed as part of the ISO-NE load study. Any required upgrades to the transmission system would be at the sole cost of the facility. These costs would be provided as part of the ISO-NE study process and would allow us to determine if the project is economically viable. Without this information it is difficult to assess the viability of the location beyond our initial analysis.

Typically, these load study applications require that we demonstrate we have control of land in close proximity to the substation. In parallel to this load study, we would also evaluate the need for onsite resources such as battery storage to help meet the needs of the facility. Al has used a similar setup for their facility.

Chrostowsky: Wiscasset has access to Maine's three-ring binder (high-capacity middle-mile dark fiber network throughout Maine), and every address in town has access to fiber-to-home technology. The proposed data center needs superior fiber-optic infrastructure.

Have you conducted a fiber sufficiency study? If so, please share this study with us so that we may review it. Does Maine's 3-ring binder have the capacity to meet the proposed data center bandwidth needs?

Robinson: Yes. We have done a preliminary study on the fiber needs and have found that site to have the potential to provide the necessary fiber optic infrastructure to meet our requirements. Due to confidentiality provisions, the carriers don't allow sharing of this fiber infrastructure.

Chrostowsky: Due to the size of the proposed data center project, you might need to phase in/scale the project to allow for the development of new and/or upgraded power generation sources to come online and/or the construction of new and/or upgraded transmission lines. Do you think that's a concern? Do you have to pay for some of these improvements through regulatory assessments?

Robinson: Phasing in the project site is typical and would not be a concern. Most data center facilities are developed in this fashion and the project would be responsible for paying for any/all upgrades.

Chrostowsky: For the Town to better assist you with an appropriate tax incentive package, we need a better breakdown of its property valuation to calculate the tax implications and incentives for such a project. The Old Ferry Road Parcel (R08-006) land is currently assessed at $704,100 or $2,366.32/ acre. Please divide the valuation between the following categories: 1) land valuation, 2) building valuation, and 3) personal property valuation.

Robinson: This is difficult to answer. First, we need to understand how much of the land is suitable for construction. Next, we need to confirm the full capacity of the transmission lines. Once we have this information we can provide a better idea of the capital investment required. As you can imagine, we expect the cost of the facilities to be significant, bringing millions in tax revenue and hundreds of full time jobs to the area.

Chrostowsky: Before we sign an exclusivity agreement, we must engage with the public regarding the possibility of developing a hyperscale Al data center on the Old Ferry Road property. Residents are already concerned about the possible development of the Old Ferry Road property. Are you ok with this public engagement before signing an exclusivity agreement? We'd encourage you to attend the meeting(s).

Robinson: Yes. We are happy to do so.

Chrostowsky: As you know, the town has allocated money for pre-development work on the Old Ferry Road property. As explained in previous correspondence, the county has retracted these funds because they were set aside for housing pre-development due to the Town's interest in the proposed data center concept for the Old Ferry Road property.

Are you willing to pay for the pre-development costs for the Old Ferry Road property if the Town offers you a one-year exclusivity deal? We ask this because the below reasons place the Town at a significant disadvantage.

This exclusivity deal would prevent development on this property for one-year while the real estate market is still in high demand in Wiscasset. Also, the Town would lose $240,000 in county pre-development funds by signing an exclusivity deal with you. And, finally, if you walk away from the project, it leaves the town to search for another source of pre-development funds and another year of lost development.

Robinson: I understand the Town's position but this is challenging. We do not yet know if the land or transmission lines can accommodate the data center. We want to work with you to achieve the Town's objectives and maintain optionality while also allowing us to bear the costs to study the site for the data center. I am hoping we can find a good solution that works for us both.

Then on June 5, 2025, an attorney for the town, Preti Flaherty’s Todd Griset, advised only giving BayWa an option on the property if it gave the town $240,000, “plus any other opportunity costs in order to preserve public value and avoid subsidizing a speculative project.” The $240,000 was the amount the town would forfeit in county funds to pre-plan other development, Griset  wrote. “While the project may offer potential economic benefits, the scale of its proposed energy consumption, current limitations in the transmission and generation system, and the financial consequences of tying up the parcel pose material risks to the Town.”

Griset said the would-be data center would consume electricity equal to about 60% of the state’s current total electricity usage – and it was not yet known if the grid can handle it. “This concentration of power consumption would be on an unprecedented scale for a single facility in Maine and raises serious feasibility concerns: The existing transmission infrastructure cannot likely support this level of incremental load. While phased development might include an initial stage that could fit within the existing grid, full-scale development would likely require significant transmission upgrades that could take years to develop. While development (of) a new transmission project (Northeast Clean Energy Connect or NECEC) is underway, including transmission upgrades in Wiscasset, most or all of that incremental capacity is already contracted and will not be available for BayWa’s use. The state’s current electric generation portfolio is insufficient to support this incremental energy demand without major new development, which would require long timelines, regulatory approvals, and possibly trigger ratepayer or taxpayer impacts.

"(Also, the) municipally owned land may have alternative, productive uses. Most immediately, the Town is eligible for a $240,000 county grant tied to predevelopment work supportive of developing the site for other purposes. Entering into an exclusive option agreement with BayWa would make the land unavailable for alternate development (for at least as long as the option term, if not longer), resulting in the automatic loss of this funding. This lost opportunity cost is concrete, quantifiable, and must be accounted for in any agreement the Town considers," Griset wrote. "… BayWa has not yet demonstrated a viable plan for securing electricity supply at this scale (or) evidence of financial readiness to follow through on the project, (or) binding commitments to hire locally, pay taxes, or fund infrastructure improvements …,” Griset continued.

"If BayWa is unwilling to make such a payment, the Town should consider whether this proposal is nonviable at this stage and explore whether other development opportunities are better aligned with available energy infrastructure, municipal resources, and public value.”

Chrostowsky said no money changed hands between the town and Robinson or the town and any entity he was involved with in connection with a data center.

Responding to Wiscasset Newspaper's questions, Town Manager Dennis Simmons said he "would never say 'never'" about the idea of a data center. "Technology evolves very rapidly and somewhere down the road a data center may make sense. I doubt if it will be in my lifetime."

The paper also asked: Given the upset some residents voiced over the NDA, and the fact it legally restricted what the town could share publicly for a year, and/or for any other reason(s) - if any, please state - do you regret signing it, or, if you had it to do over, would you?