Edison Moves To Prohibit Data Centers Township-Wide

EDISON, NJ — The Edison Township Council voted unanimously Wednesday to introduce an ordinance that would ban data centers in every zone in the township.

The council voted 7-0 on first reading at its combined meeting. A public hearing and final vote are set for Oct. 26.

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The ordinance amends Chapter 37 of the township code, which covers zoning. It adds "data centers" to the list of uses prohibited in all zones. It also removes the phrase "experimental or computation centers" from the permitted uses in two other sections of the chapter.

The ordinance defines a data center broadly. It covers any facility used mainly to store, manage and process digital data, including hyperscale and colocation facilities, cloud computing infrastructure, cryptocurrency mining operations and artificial intelligence processing facilities. Any facility that can operate at 4 megawatts or more per acre, or more than 20 megawatts overall, would count as a data center no matter what it is called.

The ordinance says data centers can harm land use, energy demand, water supply, air quality and public health. It says they can use as much power as 100,000 to 2 million households and several million gallons of water a day. It also says their backup diesel generators release pollutants that can worsen asthma, and that noise from their equipment can top 90 decibels.

In an email statement, Mayor Sam Joshi said he supports the ban.

"Data centers drain our water and power while creating few lasting jobs, and our residents shouldn't foot the bill through higher utility rates," Joshi said. "Until we can guarantee they won't harm our community's resources, prohibiting them is the responsible choice."

All seven council members voted to introduce the ordinance, but several said they have concerns.

Councilman Richard Brescher said the ordinance does not go far enough. "I don't know that it's strong enough, to be honest with you," Brescher said. He noted that residents are already paying more for electricity and that the issue is bigger than tax revenue. The councilman said that he would like to see the ordinance made stronger, but he'll support it. "I'll live with it," Brescher said.

Councilman Asaf Shmuel said he would vote to introduce the ordinance but would not support it beyond that. "I don't agree with banning data centers completely," Shmuel said. He said he wants to allow data centers with strict limits on location, noise and power use, and he said they should not be near homes or schools. He also said Edison's central location makes it a natural fit for the technology.

Councilman Ajay Patil said he would fully support a ban. He pointed to rising utility bills and said Edison has few places far from homes. Patil compared the debate to past fights over a cannabis business, the Amazon warehouse on Route 27 and Topgolf, saying neighbors have dealt with noise, vibration and light. He said warehouses belong in areas like Raritan Center and Heller Park.

Council president Joe Coyle said he would not vote for something just because it is popular. He said Edison's warehouses help keep property taxes stable. He said he does not think there is a place in the township that could supply a data center with enough power. He said he is open to talking with engineers and utilities about what is possible.

Other New Jersey towns have passed bans

Edison would join dozens of New Jersey towns that have moved to keep data centers out. Food & Water Watch said in August that more than 50 towns have adopted bans, though counts differ by group.

East Brunswick council adopted Ordinance 26-21 on Aug. 24. It makes data centers a prohibited use in all commercial, business and industrial zones. North Brunswick passed its own ban the same night.

In Warren Township officials introduced a ban as a preemptive step, saying no data center proposals were pending. The committee voted on it June 18.

The Bernards Township committee unanimously banned data centers in all zones. An official said a 200,000-square-foot data center could send 100,000 gallons of water a day into the sewer system, compared with about 20,000 for an average office complex. She said that figure could reach 180,000 gallons a day for centers that use evaporation towers.

In Manchester, the council introduced a ban that would repeal a 2025 redevelopment ordinance, which was the only place in town where a data center could have been built.

However, some bans have drawn legal challenges. E. Kahn Development Corp. sued Montgomery Township on July 31, asking a court to strike down its June ordinance. Developers have also sued Monroe and Andover. Monroe's developer is seeking $300 million.

Meanwhile, not every town acted before a project came along. In South Brunswick, a 341,000-square-foot data center is being built at 4405 Route 1 on the former Princeton Nurseries site. The township approved it in May 2025. A resident later started a petition to stop it.

The fight has since moved to the state. The DEP's draft air permit would allow the Sentinel Data Center to install 12 diesel-fired emergency generators. The DEP said its health risk assessment found the risk "negligible." Princeton's mayor and council asked the DEP to deny the permit, saying emissions could reach town, including near two elementary schools. The DEP extended the public comment period to Nov. 9.

The state has also taken enforcement action elsewhere. It fined a Vineland data center $1.07 million after finding large generators running without required air permits.

South Brunswick was also where Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a data center bill. On Aug. 27, dozens of residents and activists gathered outside the South Brunswick Library and called for a statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. Inside, Sherrill signed a law requiring data centers to report their energy and water use to the state Board of Public Utilities twice a year.

Advocacy groups said the law relies on self-reporting and that the information will not be subject to the Open Public Records Act. They said a moratorium is still needed. They also cited an April Fairleigh Dickinson University poll that found 65 percent of New Jersey residents support a temporary pause on data center construction.

What research says about the downsides

Researchers have looked at the costs of data centers, mostly on electricity prices and pollution.

A 2025 report from Harvard Law School's Electricity Law Initiative reviewed nearly 50 regulatory proceedings across the country. It warned that the cost of new power plants and lines built to serve data centers could be spread across all customers. The report said data centers could use up to 12 percent of U.S. electricity by 2028, up from about 4 percent.

New Jersey Policy Perspective, a think tank, has said the state's utility rates are already 20 percent above the national average. PJM, the regional grid operator, expects its demand to grow by 32 gigawatts by 2030, with 30 of those coming from data centers.

The think tank Next 10 and researchers at UC Riverside studied California found health costs from data center air pollution tripled between 2019 and 2023, to about $155 million a year. They said the costs could reach $266 million by 2028, driven partly by diesel backup generators.

Meanwhile The Data Center Coalition, an industry group, said the report ignores the facts.

The Oct. 26 public hearing will give residents a chance to comment before the council votes on final adoption.

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