A New Jersey data center has been hit with a $1.07 million fine over air pollution violations after officials found it had installed and operated 62 large natural-gas generators without required permits, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced Tuesday. The penalty against DataOne's facility in Vineland, Cumberland County, followed a July 29 inspection. Each of the 62 generators has a capacity of 1,982 kilowatts, well above the state's 37-kilowatt permitting threshold.
Natural gas generators emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other combustion-related pollutants, according to the DEP. The agency said its previous inspection of the facility in December did not observe the generators. DataOne was ordered to immediately obtain the required permits or cease operations.
A DataOne spokesperson told Newsweek Tuesday that the company had previously announced plans to transition to low-emission, quiet fuel cells as the site's permanent power solution. The fine comes as New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill's administration moves to impose new requirements on the growing data-center industry. In late August, she signed legislation requiring the centers to report their energy and water use.
In July, she signed a separate law requiring them to bring their own clean energy online and contribute to the grid infrastructure needed to support their growth. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday directed state environmental regulators to halt all permits sought by data centers while officials review their impact on the state's electric grid and natural resources, including water. Also Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed seven bills aimed at regulating the fast-growing data center industry, imposing new requirements on electricity costs, water use and local oversight.
The laws require data centers to provide communities with more information about their water, electricity and land-use impacts. "With these laws, we are ensuring that Californians remain in the driver’s seat — and that those profiting from data centers aren’t doing so at our expense," Newsom said Monday, calling the laws the “strongest” data center protections in the nation. Nearly 1,300 data centers are operating across the U.S., according to data-center market intelligence firm Cleanview.
Department of Energy announced in April that SB Energy would develop the “world’s largest” artificial intelligence data center on leased land at the department’s Portsmouth Site. The planned development at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, is expected to pack 10 gigawatts of capacity. The project broke ground in March.
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