MILLVILLE, N.J. — Millville’s Board of Commissioners voted on Tuesday to block data centers entirely. The ordinance barred a 2.6-million-square-foot, 1.4-gigawatt facility, making Millville the sixth municipality to adopt such a ban since February. Municipal bans have spread across Cumberland, Sussex, Gloucester, Salem, Burlington and Warren Counties.
Andover Township, in Sussex County, votes on its own ban in eight days. The June 2 primary elections arrive in thirteen. In Trenton, legislators have advanced bills forcing developers to pay grid costs upfront, while Federal lawmakers have introduced transparency requirements for AI facility siting.
Data centers already consume roughly five percent of New Jersey’s total electricity. PJM Interconnection’s July 2025 capacity auction cleared at $329.17 per megawatt-day for 2026-2027 delivery, more than ten times the $28.92 price for 2024-2025. Residential electric bills rose roughly 20 percent last summer, according to Politico NJ. The Sierra Club reported that AI data centers accounted for over 70 percent of projected demand growth in the most recent PJM auction. On May 14, more than 60 organizations sent Governor Mikie Sherrill a letter demanding an immediate pause on all AI data center projects.
Governor Sherrill has not issued a public response to that letter. Spokesperson Darwin Pham delivered the administration’s most recent on-record statement in April, saying the governor supports policies ensuring data centers “pay their fair share for energy costs” and that “communities see benefits.”
The Climate Revolution Action Network spearheaded Millville's ban. The Gen-Z-led group has backed opposition across multiple municipalities. In February, New Brunswick cancelled a proposed data center project after protests organized by NJ Build Up Resistance Now. CRAN Ecology Director Kayleigh Henry said after the Millville vote that "these corporations may have more money than us, but they're no match for people speaking out and making their voices heard." NJBallot has not located polling that measures data centers as a primary voting issue.
In Andover Township, the conflict turned physical.
Police removed Butler resident Shane Connolly from the May 7 township committee meeting after he cursed at officials twice during public comment. Connolly had returned to the microphone for a second round of remarks and said "Was that so fucking hard?" He then uttered a second expletive while speaking with officers, which prompted them to order him out. As officers walked him toward the door, Connolly stuck his foot toward the doorframe and an officer tackled him to the ground.
The New Jersey Herald identified one officer involved as Carmelo Calascibetta. PIX11 and NJ 101.5 identified a second officer, Tom Walsh, as the son of Mayor Thomas D. Walsh Jr. The Collins Project filed an OPRA request on May 11 for body-worn camera footage; the request is still pending. Sussex Visibility Brigade condemned the incident as "disturbing" and an act of suppression. Walsh said his family received death threats. Police have not released a report, and township Police Chief Eric Danielson did not respond to a request for comment from the Herald.
Andover’s proposed ban would designate data centers as prohibited in all zones. The property at 248 Stickles Pond Road, a former airport, attracted interest for a facility that Walsh said could generate $4.5 million to $5.2 million annually through payments in lieu of taxes. Andover HPC Development registered to do business in New Jersey in December 2025, listing the Stickles Pond Road property as its address.
Other municipalities have already acted. Pemberton Township in Burlington County adopted the first ban in February. Mannington Township in Salem County followed in March. Phillipsburg in Warren County and Monroe Township in Gloucester County adopted bans in April. Mantua Township, also in Gloucester County, adopted a ban on May 11. Green Township in Sussex County, and Harrison Township and Logan Township in Gloucester County, have introduced prohibitions that remain pending.
The bans stand in contrast to active construction. DataOne is building a facility for the Nebius Group in Vineland that sources have described as between 718,000 square feet and 2.6 million square feet, with power demand between 300 and 350 megawatts. The project uses 32 natural gas engines and six diesel generators. DataOne CEO Charles-Antoine Beyney claims the facility will be a "net generator of water" through condensation. The facility sits on a Wellhead Protection Area above the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer.
Scott Montgomery, who lives about half a mile from the site, posted video of a persistent humming noise on social media and contacted the Cumberland County Health Department. Theresa Lewis also reported concerns. The department responded and visited the area to measure sound levels, but has not announced findings or confirmed the exact source. DataOne said the noise is temporary and tied to ongoing construction, and that the site operates in full compliance with Vineland's noise ordinance.
In Union County, CoreWeave is constructing a $1.8 billion AI data center in Kenilworth. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a $250 million tax credit for the project under the Next New Jersey Program AI in November 2025. Neighbors circulated a local petition with more than 1,500 signatures. Mayor Linda Korlavitch defends the project and says closed-loop cooling will avoid continuous local water use.
State legislators have advanced multiple bills. Assemblyman Dave Bailey Jr. (D-3rd) sponsored A796, which would require large-load data centers to pay for 85 percent of requested electricity minimum, 10 years in advance. Bailey has called the measure a "prenup" with the industry. The Assembly passed it in March and it now awaits floor action in the Senate.
The Senate is advancing its own legislation. Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-29th) sponsored S3379, which would require semi-annual water and energy usage reports to the Board of Public Utilities. The bill passed the Senate in March and now awaits action in the Assembly. Senator Bob Smith (D-17th) put forward S680, which would mandate that new AI data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations use renewable energy, newly constructed nuclear, or a combination. It cleared the Senate Environment and Energy Committee in March and now sits before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
A bill that would ban non-disclosure agreements between developers and local officials remains in the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, where it has not come up for a vote. The New Jersey Globe reported on May 20 that legislators plan to introduce a bill cutting the $250 million CoreWeave tax credit and redirecting the funds to utility ratepayer relief. NJBallot has not confirmed a bill number or sponsor names.
New Jersey's federal representatives are also active. Representative LaMonica McIver (D-10) wants 180 days of public disclosure before any AI data center deal closes. Her H.R. 8488, introduced April 23, would mandate multilingual outreach and independent environmental impact analysis. It would also bar non-disclosure agreements with public entities. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) introduced H.R. 7858, the Data Center Community Impact Act, on March 6. It would authorize a federal study on environmental, economic and public health impacts with focus on environmental justice communities.
The Data Center Coalition, a nationwide trade association, defends the industry against the ban wave. Khara Boender, the coalition's director of state policy, said data centers are "the essential digital infrastructure behind every online purchase, telehealth appointment, online news article, and digital classroom." The Coalition claims the industry supported more than 96,000 jobs and contributed more than $17 billion to the New Jersey economy in 2023. The group has not issued a specific statement on the Millville ban.
Behind the legislative maneuvering exists a grid reality that regulators have struggled to manage. PJM projects that data centers could add 30 gigawatts of demand by 2030. Monitoring Analytics, PJM’s independent market monitor, filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, arguing that data centers should not enter the grid until reliable generation exists. FERC denied the complaint in Docket EL26-30 on March 23. A Board of Public Utilities study on data center impacts to electricity costs is due in October 2026, under legislation signed by former Governor Phil Murphy in 2025.
Andover Township votes on May 28. By then, DataOne's generators will already be running in Vineland. The BPU study is due in October, after the primary, after the summer rate hikes, and after PJM's next auction. Millville banned what never broke ground, but Trenton still subsidizes what already did. The township committees vote no. The power flows anyway.
Related Articles
• Investigating New Jersey’s Data Center Boom, Part 1: The Footprint and the Lawmakers
• NJ Battery Storage Awards Raise Questions About Grid Investment Priorities
Sources
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• Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12), H.R. 7858 bill text (March 6, 2026)
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