New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has signed into law new rules requiring data center owners and operators in New Jersey to disclose their energy and water use to state regulators.
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The new laws will require data centers to submit semiannual reports to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities detailing total energy consumption, energy used for cooling versus IT equipment, peak daily water use, water sources, and on-site and backup power supplies.
The new law follows legislation signed by the governor in July that mandated data center firms bring their own clean energy and established a new utility rate class for large-load data centers to mitigate cost shifting to regular ratepayers. The rules apply to both existing and new facilities with a capacity exceeding 100MW.
"At the beginning of this summer, I announced the most comprehensive data center plan in the nation to establish strong guardrails and hold data centers accountable," said Sherrill. "Just three months later, I am delivering on all four pillars of that plan."
Environmental groups said that the new laws do not go far enough, with several calling for a statewide moratorium on new data center builds, like its neighbor New York, which became the first state to impose a statewide moratorium last month.
“Data center reporting for energy and water use after the damage is done is the antithesis of guardrails,” said Jaclyn Rhoads, executive director of the Pinelands Alliance. “New Jersey is paving the way for data centers to contaminate our air and waterways while leaving the public to suffer. We demand more of our government officials. Pass a moratorium now.”
Sherrill pushed back against these arguments, contending that data centers seeking to build in New Jersey will “play by our rules.”
“We don’t have to choose between innovation and accountability, and we won’t,” she said.
In addition to the new disclosure laws, Sherrill also signed a law that ends the $500 million tax credit program that encouraged the development of new data centers.
According to Data Center Map, New Jersey currently hosts 66 data centers across 48 operators. The market is dominated by colo providers, with Equinix, QTS, Digital Realty, and Iron Mountain, all with facilities in the state.
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