For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
Governor Sherrill Signs Energy & Water Reporting Bill, Increasing Data Center Transparency in NJ
South Brunswick, NJ - Today, Governor Sherrill signed a critical bill to increase transparency regarding energy and water usage from data centers, S3379 (Ruiz) /A4096 (Venezia).
This bill, now effective immediately, requires data center owners and operators to submit semi-annual water and energy usage reports to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for a reporting time period of three years with clear authority to extend the reporting in perpetuity. This requires existing and proposed data centers to submit the reports.
Additionally, under the law, data center owners or operators must notify the BPU of any substantial change in operations or technologies that would require an update to the report at least 60 days prior to making the change.
Notably, the Board would also coordinate with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to enforce the requirement of this law.
In response, NJ Sierra Club Director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, issued the following statement:
“The Sierra Club celebrates the enactment of Senator Ruiz’s and Assemblyman Venezia’s data center energy and water reporting bill, signed into law today by Governor Sherrill.
This legislation is a step in the right direction that will help us better understand the accurate strain large-load users like data centers are placing and could place on our regional electric grid (which is reflected in our energy bills), and our natural resources right here in New Jersey, including water supply.
Thanks to the enactment of this bill, the BPU now has the authority and the responsibility to ensure that the state and communities understand and have access to the accurate real-time amounts of energy and water data centers are consuming. This is the first step to increasing transparency and providing the critical New Jersey-specific data that the public deserves and that can inform the decision-making processes at the municipal level for both officials and residents.
We thank the Sherrill Administration for their commitment to moving forward legislation to protect our health, wallets, and environment from irresponsible data center development. We now look forward to building on this energy accountability and reporting work with a comprehensive siting bill that would protect New Jersey’s critical open spaces, farmland, and communities with strict safeguards for heat and noise impacts. We will also continue to advocate for data centers to rely on clean, affordable energy without backup dirty diesel generators.”
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About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey