More NJ towns ban AI data centers as projects reach nearly 3 million square feet
Multiple communities across New Jersey, including Millville, Harrison, Logan, Monroe, Pemberton, Waterford, Phillipsburg, and Andover, are enacting bans on AI data centers due to concerns over electricity demand, water usage, noise pollution, and potential impacts on utility bills. Specific projects by A1 Data in Millville and Hexa Builders in Monroe have been impacted, while CoreWeave's project in Kenilworth faces ongoing community opposition despite local official support for its economic benefits.
A growing number of New Jersey communities are enacting bans on artificial intelligence (AI) data centers amid increasing concerns about their environmental and infrastructural impacts. Towns like Millville, Harrison, Logan, Monroe, Pemberton, Waterford, and Phillipsburg have adopted ordinances prohibiting new data center construction, with Andover also considering a similar ban. Residents and officials cite worries over soaring electricity demand, which could raise utility bills and strain the regional grid, as well as significant water consumption and nonstop industrial noise.
In Millville, a proposed 2.9 million square foot project by A1 Data prompted a proactive ban, although no formal plans were submitted. Monroe's ban effectively halted a planned facility by Hexa Builders, whose application for a warehouse and data center on 172 acres of farmland was denied by the Monroe Planning Board. These local actions are partly influenced by existing large-scale data center developments, such as a 2.6 million square foot DataOne/Nebius facility under expansion in Vineland.
Conversely, the borough of Kenilworth in Union County is supporting CoreWeave's plan to develop a 400,000-square-foot AI data center on a former Merck property. Mayor Linda Karlovitch defended the project, highlighting the economic benefits and the utilization of existing infrastructure, including a dedicated power substation and a closed-loop cooling system to mitigate environmental concerns. Despite reassurances from Mayor Karlovitch and CoreWeave, residents have formed an opposition group, "Stop CoreWeave's Data Center in Kenilworth, NJ," expressing doubts about the project's long-term electrical and environmental impacts.