Secaucus Holds Oct. 13 Meeting With CoreSite, Equinix Data Centers And Town Residents

SECAUCUS, NJ — As of Wednesday, Oct. 7, what's the latest on data centers in Secaucus?

There is a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, Oct. 13 where several town residents, plus the mayor and council, will meet with representatives from two of the biggest data center operators in Secaucus, Equinix and CoreSite.

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Mayor Mike Gonnelli called the meeting; he invited this Patch reporter to attend, but people tend to speak much more freely when there is not a reporter around. Here is who is attending that meeting:

• CoreSite employees
• Equinix employees
• Representatives from PSE&G
• Representatives from Veolia water company
• Secaucus residents Kathy McFarlande, David Kraatz, Richie Steffens, Jr., Ed Becker and several other residents
• Mayor Gonnelli and some Council members
• Most likely town administrator Gary Jeffas, although this is not confirmed.

Gonnelli said Wednesday he plans to let the Secaucus residents who are the most vocal and outspoken against data centers ask questions.

"We're going to let them talk," he said, referring to both residents and the data centers reps. "We're going to ask them about our public service bills going up; is there any way we can avoid that? But I plan to sit back on this and let the residents ask their questions."

Gonnelli said he plans to publicly discuss what was said at that meeting at next Tuesday night's Council meeting.

This website lists all the data centers in Secaucus, but it's not entirely accurate; the website says there are a total of 17 data centers in Secaucus, while Gonnelli and Jeffas maintain there are nine data centers in town currently, with two more already approved and in the pipeline (215 County Avenue, 275 Hartz Way). The website does list the address of every data center in town, however.

Also, Patch asked Neil Osnato, the owner of a technology company that studies AI infrastructure and its impact on the electric grid, what questions he would ask if he was sitting in on that Oct. 13 meeting.

It's important the town and residents ask the data companies what their facilities are capable of, not just how much load capacity they have today, he responded.

"The meeting becomes much more useful if Secaucus distinguishes what is happening today from what facilities are technically capable of doing, or may do later," he said. "For example: Current megawatts is different from maximum or projected MW. Current water use is different from projected peak demand. What is current peak electric demand vs. projected future peak demand?"

"The important thing is that the town comes out of the meeting understanding not just what the facilities use today, but what they are capable of using."

"The broader question is not simply whether Secaucus has 11 data centers," Osnato continued. "It is whether the town understands the cumulative electricity, water, back-up generation, fuel-storage and supporting utility infrastructure associated with that concentration of data centers."

Prior: Where Secaucus' 2 Newest Data Centers Will Go; Will Bring Town's Total To 11 (Sept. 25)

Woman Curses Data Center Spokeswoman At Volatile Secaucus Council Meeting (Sept. 23)