In the United States, fierce local opposition to new data center construction continues to dog developers hoping to cash in on the AI boom.
Though grassroots organizers have threatened some $130 billion in data center investments, those efforts don’t always pan out, and it’s next to impossible to oust one of the facilities once they’ve taken root.
But even after a data center goes online, the battle is far from over. Take the DataOne facility in southern New Jersey, for example, which was recently slapped with a $1 million fine by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection after inspectors uncovered illegally installed gas-powered generators belching smog into the surrounding neighborhood.
That’s according to Gothamist, which reports that the data center in Vineland, New Jersey was found operating 62 gas generators without state approval, a scheme that’s becoming increasingly common as the energy-hungry facilities run up against the limits of what publicly-run power grids can provide.
“This enforcement action — by far the largest ever taken against a data center in New Jersey and possibly one of the largest such actions in the nation — sends a clear message that these facilities will not be constructed or operated with impunity in this state,” NJDEP commissioner Ed Potosnak said in a statement.
For locals, the enforcement action was a long time coming, following months of pressure on state and local politicians to provide more transparency and hold the developers accountable.
“Residents in Vineland have been pointing out the bad behavior of this data center. So I’d be lying to say if I were surprised,” Vineland resident Matt Williams told Gothamist.
The data center is currently in its early stages of development, having begun construction in early 2025 with funding from Microsoft.
When it goes fully online, the $17 billion facility is expected to suck up 350 megawatts of power, making it, as the Sierra Club New Jersey put it, “one of the largest data centers in the entire Northeast region.” Adding insult to injury, the city of Vineland agreed to give the data center a five-year tax exemption.
Yet thanks to no small degree of pressure, state authorities were quick to call the developers out — showing what’s possible when residents keep sustained pressure on politicians long after the data center lease has been signed.
More on data centers: Data Centers Are Causing a Huge Surge in Incredibly Toxic Chemicals Polluting the World
The post Data Center Operator Slapped With $1 Million Fine for Belching Noxious Gas Into Surrounding Community appeared first on Futurism.
