Big Tech takeover? NJ warned as data center fight explodes here

New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea has issued a warning to New Jersey residents about the potential negative impacts of data centers, drawing parallels to Michigan where such developments are becoming widespread. Spadea's concerns, echoed by former Michigan House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Tom Leonard, center on a lack of transparency, the loss of farmland, and increased utility costs for residents due to data centers' high energy and water demands. A specific controversial AI data center project in Vineland, New Jersey, is highlighted, projected to use more than twice the energy of the entire town. Local resident Nicole, leading the Facebook group "Sustain SJ," is actively organizing community opposition. She claims that local politicians have ignored residents and allowed the project to advance without public awareness or input. Both Spadea and Leonard advocate for greater transparency and public engagement in such development decisions, urging New Jerseyans to emulate past successful efforts against large-scale projects like wind farms.