One of east coast’s largest datacenters accused of ‘violating federal law’
A major AI datacenter in New Jersey, DataOne, is facing accusations of violating federal law for operating dozens of unpermitted gas-powered generators. The facility, which supports Microsoft's AI infrastructure, has drawn criticism for noise and air pollution concerns.
Why it matters
The controversy underscores the tension between the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and local environmental and regulatory compliance standards.
One of the largest datacenters on the east coast, DataOne is also the first in New Jersey seeking to build its own power plant. Photograph: Evan Simon/Floodlight One of the largest datacenters on the east coast, DataOne is also the first in New Jersey seeking to build its own power plant. Photograph: Evan Simon/Floodlight Floodlight Datacenters – US One of east coast’s largest datacenters accused of ‘violating federal law’ Thermal drone footage shows a Microsoft-backed AI datacenter powering its operations with dozens of unpermitted generators
Prefer the Guardian on Google The largest planned AI datacenter in New Jersey is being accused of violating federal law after a visual investigation found the site running dozens of unpermitted gas-powered generators.
Thermal drone footage captured by the non-profit newsroom Floodlight last week showed the partly completed DataOne facility in Vineland was operating at least 45 of the site’s 62 generators at the time.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in