New Jersey fined DataOne $1.07M for installing and running 62 gas generators without air permits at its Vineland data center. DataOne must apply for permits or stop using them; the state left the site open, but environmental advocates want it shut until permits are secured.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration said the fine was the largest ever imposed on a data center in New Jersey. DataOne disputes the DEP’s fine but says it will apply for permits and plans to replace the temporary generators with fuel cells. A bill proposing a six-month pause on approvals, construction and expansion of certain large AI data centers while a commission studies their impacts remains in an Assembly committee and has not come up for a vote.
DEP said its inspectors first saw the generators during a July 29 visit. Floodlight’s mid-August thermal-drone footage showed at least 45 of the 62 running while the state said the site had no permits. Each can produce 1,982 kilowatts, more than 50 times the output level that requires a state permit. State officials said burning natural gas releases nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide; experts told Floodlight exposure to the pollutants can worsen asthma and increase the risk of heart attacks and premature death.
