The Sherrill administration has fined a large data center in New Jersey over $1 million for installing and operating 62 large gas powered generators without state permits. The penalty comes as growth of the data center industry, and the energy it requires, has been blamed for rising electricity prices in the state and sparked environmental concerns.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday that the penalty for DataONE, the company that operates the data center in Vineland, New Jersey, stems from a July 29 site inspection. According to the DEP, the generators were not present at the previous inspection in December 2025.
“This enforcement action – by far the largest ever taken against a data center in New Jersey and possibly one of the largest such actions in the nation – sends a clear message that these facilities will not be constructed or operated with impunity in this state,” said DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak.
The enforcement action says that the company is required to seek the necessary permits. However, it may also appeal for an administrative hearing with the DEP.
DataONE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Construction on the $17 billion South Jersey project backed by Microsoft began in early 2025, and the first phase of the site is expected to open later this year. The data center is designed to draw up to 350 megawatts of power, more than double the city of Vineland’s current power use.
Local Vineland residents have raised concerns about what they say is a lack of transparency from local officials about the data center, its potential impact on both the environment and already-rising electric bills in the state, as well as a persistent hum emanating from the site.
Data centers have become a burgeoning political issue both locally and nationally. In New Jersey, nearly 100 municipalities have banned data centers through local ordinances. Sherrill’s administration has resisted calls from activists to issue a statewide moratorium. But the first-term Democratic governor has championed a series of laws she signed this year seeking to reign in data centers’ impacts on the environment and on rising electricity bills for New Jerseyans.
“I said from the beginning that we are going to hold data centers accountable, period. That is exactly why I announced the most comprehensive data center plan in the nation and moved quickly to put those guardrails in place,” Sherrill said in a statement Tuesday. “We are putting power in the hands of the people and ensuring this industry works for us, on our terms – not theirs.”
Ben Dziobek, executive director of Climate Revolution Action Network, a New Jersey-based group that has actively been opposing data centers around the state called the action a ” great step forward.”
“But I would rather not even see this happen in the first place,” he said.
Dziobek called for the governor’s office to actively monitor the DataONE and other data center construction sites around the state.
Matt Williams, a Vineland resident, called the fine for DataONE “unsurprising and long overdue.”
“Residents in Vineland have been pointing out the bad behavior of this data center. So I'd be lying to say if I were surprised,” said Williams, who is the board chair of the group Sustain South Jersey, which was formed last year to oppose the data center.
The Vineland project has become a political lightning rod in the midterm congressional race in New Jersey’s 2nd District. Incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican, has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the DataONE facility – calling it a local matter. Several top executives involved in the project have donated in the past to Van Drew’s campaign.
His spokesperson, Ron Filan, said Van Drew believes everyone should abide by the law.
"And the State should always enforce those laws. They have every right to fine them if laws are being broken and action by the state was totally appropriate. We all have to play by the rules," Filan said in a written statement.
Democratic challenger Zack Mullock said the news of the $1 million fine was “a huge credit” to the community.
“There are some people who have demeaned them and made them seem as if they were ludicrous for asking the questions that they've been asking. And I think what this shows is that they were absolutely right to be asking the questions,” he said.
Mullock said he would favor a statewide moratorium on data centers.
“It couldn't be any more clear after this. They think they're untouchable – these multibillion-dollar corporations are just doing whatever they want,” he said.
