Data Centers

A data center can refer to a building or group of buildings that house servers, hardware, networking equipment, and other computing technologies. Data centers come in a wide variety of sizes and uses, each requiring different amounts of power and water usage. 

There are smaller data centers that can range from 1-5 megawatts (MW), average data centers that consume around 100 MW, and larger ones called hyperscalers. Hyperscalers are massive cloud service providers that offer computing, storage, and networking services to support immense data demands. These facilities typically consume over 100 MW of energy and are used for large companies like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google facilities.

In recent years, power-hungry data centers have caused a massive increase in projected or planned new demand for electricity throughout the country – delaying coal plant retirements, causing new proposed gas-burning power plants, and installing hundreds of dirty backup diesel generators – resulting in more air and water pollution on top of skyrocketing electric rates.

Specifically, in overdeveloped New Jersey, we are seeing data centers buy up precious dwindling farmland, move ahead blindly at the local level with no proper regulation or environmental impact studies, and obtain shady tax abatement deals. Most times, residents are left in the dark, because non-disclosure agreements between municipalities and developers prohibit identifying what the land use will be until it is often too late to oppose it. In the meantime, residents are left to pay for massively increased electricity costs.

Top Concerns

• Energy usage impact on the grid and skyrocketing utility bills
• Air pollution from diesel and dirty gas generators
• Noise pollution from water coolers that run 24 hours every day and backup generators that are fired up at least once a week
• High water usage straining drinking water supplies
• Irresponsible siting: on or nearby farmland, wetlands, green space, residents
• Lack of transparency, no regulation or reporting, back door financial deals 

By the Numbers

• 80+ data centers in New Jersey
• Energy usage: ~2.2 TWh consumed annually in New Jersey
• Water usage: 300,000 gallons consumed a day
• Impacts to Electric Prices: Data centers were responsible for 63% of capacity price increases in the 2024 PJM auction. 
• Impacts to Utility Bills: Electricity now costs as much as 267% more for a single month than it did 5 years ago in areas located near significant data center activity.

Policy and Legislation

Policy and legislation to effectively regulate data centers is urgently needed. Here are some solutions we are advocating for:

• Require data centers to bring their own clean energy to avoid the toll on the grid and power bills
• Prioritize on-site clean energy and battery storage 
• Enable/require Large Load Tariffs (LLT)
• Increase transparency and energy/water reporting
• Prohibit non-disclosure agreements that hide the identity of data center owners and technical details of facilities
• Remove or ensure just tax incentives 
• Require smart growth for data centers: appropriate siting that does not impact farms, communities and the environment
• Mandate comprehensive assessments of cumulative impacts to environment and communities (including emissions, noise, water quality)

Local Action and Organizing 

To mitigate the impact of data centers on our communities in New Jersey, we need a community-centered approach grounded in transparency, accountability, and justice.

• Connect and organize with community members on an accessible communication platform
• Attend, speak out, and ask questions at local Town Council and Planning Board Meetings to hold municipal leaders accountable
• Bring printed materials to increase public education and follow up 
• Talk to your local Representatives and reach out to the press to amplify local concerns

The Data Center and Warehouse Committee is committed to reining in the explosive growth of data centers throughout New Jersey. Formerly, it was warehouses that were popping up in both high-density urban locations and open rural areas with few roads capable of handling 18-wheeler traffic. Today, massive data centers are seemingly being built everywhere, driven by the growth of AI (artificial intelligence), cryptocurrency and with high-demand needs for land, electricity and water.

The Data Center & Warehouse Committee welcomes new volunteer members. Currently we meet on Zoom once a month. Contact co-chairs Gary Frederick and Stan Greberis by email at garyfrederick@sierraclub.newjersey.com and sgreberis@newjersey.sierraclub.org to learn more. 

Questions? Reach out to NJ Chapter organizer, Maegan Kuhlmann at maegan.kulhmann@sierraclub.org. 

Resources

NJ’s urgent need to regulate power-sucking data centers | Opinion, NJ Spotlight op-ed by NJ Sierra Club Director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, April 2026

NJ Data Center Factsheet, NJ Sierra Club Spring 2026

Demanding Better Report, Sierra Club 

Large Energy Customers Must Demand Better, Sierra Club one-pager

Unconstrained Demand, Virginia’s Data Center Expansion and Its Impacts, VA Sierra Club

Data Center State Policies, 2026