Sayreville The Latest NJ Town To Question Data Centers

SAYREVILLE, NJ — Sayreville is the latest town in New Jersey to question the value of having data centers.

At their Monday night meeting, the Sayreville town council approved a proposed ordinance that will put an 18-month temporary halt on any new data center that requests to open in town, MyCentralJersey reported.

The ordinance is not law yet. It first has to go through a public hearing, scheduled for July 20.

As the debate over data centers continues, Sayreville joins Asbury Park and Red Bank, both of which passed town laws this June banning data centers from opening within town limits.

Other large towns such as Union, Warren, Phillipsburg and Summit have introduced measures banning data centers, but they haven't passed yet. There is also a grassroots movement underway in Old Bridge to ban data centers.

Towns across New Jersey said they are worried about the amount of electricity data centers require from the regional electrical grid. Towns are also worried about how much water data centers use for cooling and their continuous noise.

A growing number of people are calling on Gov. Mikie Sherrill and the state Legislature to put an immediate pause on allowing new data center construction, particularly data centers serving artificial intelligence/AI.

Data centers are one reason why New Jersey electric bills have gone up so much:

Data centers use tremendous amounts of electricity, and the current supply on New Jersey's electric grid is not enough for how much electricity data centers demand. Compounding the problem is that New Jersey does not produce enough electricity in state to power its needs.

Utility companies, such as PSE&G, are forced to buy more energy from out of state, which is very expensive. In the past two years, PJM, which manages New Jersey's electric grid, has increased the supply charge for electric companies and in turn, utility companies increased the transmission charge to customers.

Asbury Park Passes Data Center Ban (June 17)