New Jersey AI Datacenter Accused of Violating Federal Law Over Unpermitted Generators

The report draws on an investigation by the nonprofit newsroom Floodlight, which captured thermal drone footage last week showing the partly completed DataOne facility in Vineland running at least 45 of its 62 generators. None of the generators have permits. Bruce Buckheit, a former EPA air enforcement chief who served under multiple Republican administrations, told Floodlight the activities violate federal law and that the company should immediately stop operating the generators and pay a fine for illegal emissions.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection confirmed it has issued no permits and has no permit applications under review for generators at the site. A spokesperson said the agency noticed the generators during a July 29 inspection but had not yet made a full compliance determination. DataOne did not respond to questions about the unpermitted generators but said it remains committed to meeting all applicable environmental and permitting requirements. Nebius, the Dutch AI infrastructure company involved in the $17 billion deal to provide computing power to Microsoft, did not respond to requests for comment, and Microsoft declined to comment. The EPA said New Jersey regulators are responsible for air permitting at the site.

The datacenter, about 40 miles outside Philadelphia, has stirred controversy since breaking ground in 2025 due to noise complaints, unpermitted construction and a contentious zoning process. It is one of many AI datacenters across the United States facing local opposition. DataOne is the first in New Jersey to seek to build its own power plant, a strategy pioneered by Elon Musk's datacenters and now adopted by nearly 60 facilities nationwide, according to energy analytics firm Cleanview.

DataOne originally planned to use more than 30 Bergen gas-burning engines, but the state environmental department found deficiencies in its air permit application. The company withdrew the application in May and now plans to rely on Bloom fuel cells capable of producing 300 megawatts. A Bloom official testified the fuel cells could emit more than 2 billion pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Until those are operational, the facility has been relying on the unpermitted gas generators, with maintenance logs indicating the first generator was turned on in October.

Thermal drone footage from a data intelligence company appears to show 25 of the unpermitted generators operating in late June. Local residents have complained of a constant humming noise for months, leading to a class-action lawsuit over noise pollution in New Jersey federal court. Andrew Groetsch, who lives less than a mile from the site, said the noise has woken his family at night and often interrupts bedtime stories with his children. "It's just constant. It never goes away," he told Floodlight. The couple hopes regulators will "at least get that part of it shut down and put a closer eye" on the project.