Sixty-two gas generators were burning behind a data center fence in Vineland, New Jersey, without permits. The state has now put a price on that: $1.1M.
Environmental officials called it the largest enforcement action New Jersey has ever taken against a facility of this kind. The investigation opened after The Guardian and Floodlight News published thermal drone footage in August showing 45 of the units in operation.
Permits are required above 37 kilowatts in the state. The generators at the site are rated at 1,982 kilowatts, more than 50 times that threshold, and none had been approved. Regulators said the engines emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other combustion pollutants tied to asthma, heart attacks and premature death. Ed Potosnak, who runs the state’s environmental protection department, said data centers would not be built or operated with impunity in New Jersey.
The remedy has not satisfied residents. DataOne has 45 days to file for the permits it skipped. While that application is pending, the engines may keep running.
A local environmental group, Sustain SJ, called the penalty too small to change behaviour at a company of that size. The campus supplies power for Microsoft’s AI products, and neighbours want to know what has already been released into the air near homes and two schools. More than 80 data centers are planned or under construction across the state.
