NJ neighbors furious as giant AI data center hums 24/7 — and that’s not all

⚡ A 2.6 million-sq.-ft. AI data center in Vineland has launched, will reach 300 megawatts of power capacity.

🔊 Residents say the facility produces a constant loud humming, sparking noise complaints.

💧 Critics warn the project requires immense power and sits above the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, raising concerns about potential pollution and resource use.

VINELAND — A massive AI data center now roaring to life in South Jersey is setting off alarms among nearby residents.

Neighbors in Vineland say the sprawling facility runs 24 hours a day with a constant industrial hum, triggering a wave of noise complaints and fresh questions about how the project was approved in the first place.

The 2.6-million-square-foot data center built to feed the exploding demand for artificial intelligence could eventually draw as much as 300 megawatts of power, an enormous energy load at a time when New Jersey residents are already paying shocking electric bills.

Critics say the project exposes a growing tension playing out across the country as tech giants race to build power-hungry data centers while communities worry about noise, pollution and a drain on local resources.

New Jersey neighbors caught off guard by AI facility

In Vineland, the controversy started long before the humming began. Because the property sits in an Urban Enterprise Zone at the corner of Lincoln  and Sheridan avenues, residents living nearby were not required to be notified before the massive redevelopment project got the green light — meaning many locals say they only discovered the huge facility after construction was already underway, Pinelands Alliance has pointed out.

Now the center — backed by a multibillion-dollar AI deal tied to Microsoft — is up and running in phases, powered largely by on-site natural gas engines running around the clock.

Environmental groups say that raises another concern: a giant energy-hungry complex operating above the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, one of South Jersey’s most important sources of drinking water.

Viral video highlights constant humming from Vineland data center

One Cumberland County resident’s video clip of the constant loud humming of the engines powering the center has gone viral on social media platforms.

Data centers use electricity to run their computers and to run the systems that cool them — and typically run 24 hours a day.

The Vineland center uses on-site natural gas power generation — 36 Bergen Engine units with a combined 403 MW potential — and the facility is hooked into an existing natural gas pipeline.

Project supporters have said that the natural gas-powered engines that power the center make the impact on the electric grid a non-issue. But Sierra Club New Jersey argues that those gas engines will generate new air pollution in addition to the noise. The center is also about 200 feet from sensitive wetlands, near Manantico Creek.

About 5 megawatts of power is to be provided by Atlantic City Electric, Asbury Park Press has reported.

Worries about massive data center depleting crucial NJ water source

The data center in Vineland is above the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which sustains the region's ecosystems, supports agriculture, and provides about a million people with drinking water.

DataOne Vineland CEO Charles Antoine Beyney delivered a public presentation on the center in late January at a Vineland town hall, which Pinelands Alliance dubbed as “too late.”

Beyney said that "other than an initial injection of millions of gallons of water" from the city's supply to get the system started, the data center would be generating its own water for use, according to the same Pinelands Alliance recap.

The sprawling center will pull its own water from the atmosphere through exhaust condensation, Beyney explained.

Skeptics point out that even with such a “water generation” element, in a period of drought or extreme heat, there will inevitably impact the region’s water supply.

Read More: Rescue plan revealed for New Jersey's surging electric costs 

Farmer calls out Rep. Jeff Van Drew and local officials over oversight

Joining the social media conversation on the data center is a neighboring farmer.

Timberline Farms in Hammonton co-owner Joe Kalucki shared a video calling out Congressman Jeff Van Drew for being quiet on these data center concerns.

The congressman has since issued a statement to New Jersey 101.5, saying it’s not a federally connected project.

“I understand why people have concerns. But it is important to be clear that this particular project has no federal component. There are no federal leases, no federal property, and no federal permits involved,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said in a written response to New Jersey 101.5.

“One of the areas I was most concerned about was energy use, but I have received reassurances that they plan to generate their own power, which means it should not impact ratepayers in Cumberland County," he said.

“At the federal level, I am working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure that as this technology expands across the country, it is done responsibly and with American families in mind."

The draft air permit application for the proposed Data One facility in Vineland is currently under review by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"The DEP has not received any permit applications for water use or water allocation related to this proposed facility," a spokesperson said to New Jersey 101.5 on Thursday.

Community debate grows over transparency and political tensions

Kalucki said the concerns are not partisan.

“If these data centers are going to be part of our economic future, which seems likely, then the public return on those projects should be clear and enforceable,” Kalucki said in a written statement to New Jersey 101.5, saying those are not "radical demands.”

“We need clear local hiring expectations, minimum permanent job commitments, and ideally, some formal community benefit provisions tied to performance,” he added.

At a public meeting last month, Vineland Council President Paul Spinelli had an angry response to being asked whether he or other city officials were profiting from the data center.

Spinelli’s threat of a slander lawsuit was directed at Bayly Winder, a Democratic primary candidate for the 2nd Congressional District.

Such a lawsuit would be dismissed under the state's version of the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. The law, signed in 2023, seeks to quickly dismiss any "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" or SLAPP.

Critics of the massive data center have also reacted to the five-year property tax exemption that the developers received.

Regardless of opinion, PILOT deals — or payment in lieu of taxes — are rather common in New Jersey as a tool for municipalities to attract development.

Approval for the Data One PILOT was granted at a Vineland City Council meeting in February, Vineland Voice reported. A similar deal was granted at the same session for the new golf course owned by pro baseball icon and VIneland native, Mike Trout.

NJ sees one data center of many struck down

New Jersey has an estimated 68 data centers, in 18 “markets,” mostly municipalities with a couple of counties, according to the site, datacentermap.

As public attention has spiked over the local impact of these sites, New Brunswick was the backdrop of what activists considered a recent “public win.”

A smaller data center was scrapped by the City Council at a February meeting, for a location along Jersey Avenue, Patch reported.

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