On a brisk Saturday in late March 2026, a crowd of about 100 people gathered at a park in Vineland, New Jersey, their voices rising in protest against a massive new neighbor: a hyperscale, 350-megawatt artificial intelligence (AI) data center under construction just a few miles away. Some waved protest signs, others simply shouted their discontent, but all shared a sense of unease about the future of their community—and the role of technology in shaping it.
The Vineland facility, developed by DataOne for the Nebius Group as part of a staggering $17 billion partnership with Microsoft, is just one of dozens of similar projects springing up across the region. These sprawling complexes, designed to house the computer servers that power everything from social media to AI-driven analytics, are fueling a national debate about energy use, environmental impact, and who really benefits from the digital revolution. According to WHYY News, the Vineland project plans to generate 85% of its own electricity using natural gas piped directly to the site, with a proposed 1.5-million-gallon liquified natural gas (LNG) tank ready as backup in case the pipeline is ever interrupted.
The rally in Vineland was organized by Bayly Winder, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, who has called for a national moratorium on new data center construction. Winder’s challenge is aimed squarely at incumbent Republican Jeff Van Drew, but the issue has crossed partisan lines. Residents’ concerns range from noise and air pollution to water usage and property values. "AI data centers are not essential to life in Vineland," local resident Zac Landicini told WHYY News. "Nobody in Vineland needs an AI data center like they need a water utility or a power utility. It does nothing in terms of its product to directly benefit Vineland residents."
DataOne, for its part, insists the facility will be a boon for the community. The company has promised to hire more than 200 permanent, full-time workers and become one of Vineland’s largest taxpayers—though local officials have sweetened the deal with a five-year tax exemption. DataOne also touts plans to provide weekly meals to low-income residents, sourced from a vertical "giga-farm" that will use the data center’s waste heat and carbon dioxide to grow produce. Yet for many, these promises ring hollow compared to their worries about pollution and disruption.
The city’s mayor and City Council president have publicly supported the project and the accompanying tax break, but declined to speak to WHYY News. Meanwhile, DataOne’s CEO, Charles-Antoine Beyney, has gone on the record to downplay the environmental footprint of the facility. "A data center, I would say, is something that is not creating that much disturbance," Beyney told WHYY News. "If I was a big warehouse from Amazon, I would be creating a hundred times more disturbance, because you will have hundreds of trucks all day long coming over, and back and forth, and that will be polluting tremendously more than my facility."
The Vineland data center, originally planned at 2.4 million square feet, has been scaled down to under 718,000 square feet. The facility will use 32 high-efficiency natural gas engines—five for backup—and six diesel generators for emergencies. Beyney claims that "state-of-the-art" pollution-control technology will reduce emissions by 95%, and that the company will employ carbon capture, even though it’s not required by law. "We’re not polluting more than 200 cows," he said, drawing a comparison to methane emissions from livestock. DataOne’s stated goal is to achieve net-zero emissions.
But for residents like Michael Gentile, who lives half a mile from the construction site, the reality feels more intrusive. He described a "whining metallic" noise that’s kept his family awake at night. "The anxiety, just hearing that noise, it’s going to drive people crazy. It’s driving me crazy, my wife crazy. Last night she was up, she couldn’t sleep," Gentile said. Property values and utility bills are also top of mind for many. "I don’t want my property values to go down. I don’t want my utilities to go up."
Environmental concerns extend beyond noise. The site sits near the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, a key water source in the Pinelands National Reserve, and is located within a Wellhead Protected Area. Farmer Michael Atkinson, whose family has worked the land nearby since 1954, worries about the impact on his crops and wells. "As a farmer, we get our water allocation every year. Our wells around here are not very deep wells. I’m not a huge farmer. What was it going to do to us?" Atkinson asked. "Am I going to have to call my well guy? Am I gonna have to drop a new well? Am I going to have to drill deeper? It’s just a huge question that was never answered."
Hyperscale data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling, but Beyney said the Vineland site would require up to 20 million gallons per year and would generate its own water supply by extracting moisture from the air using waste heat. Still, residents like Jenna Williams remain skeptical. "During the summer when it gets really hot, sometimes they tell us to ration our water. We’re not allowed to water the lawn, and take showers every other day," she said. "But from following data centers across the country, it does seem to be a collective issue that it will affect the water."
Noise and wildlife disturbances have also become flashpoints. Atkinson noted that geese have begun migrating away from the construction area, impacting his flower farm’s seedlings. Scott Montgomery, another resident, described a persistent humming and reverberating noise. "When it comes to sleep, obviously, that’s not good. When you’re sitting out back, wanting to enjoy nature, that’s no good," Montgomery said. Beyney responded that DataOne is building berms, planting trees, and installing mufflers to keep noise below New Jersey’s 50-decibel nighttime limit.
While Vineland residents grapple with local impacts, the debate has reached Washington, D.C. On Friday, March 20, 2026, the White House released a policy road map urging Congress to regulate AI data center energy use. According to POLITICO, top House Republican leaders pledged to work with Democrats to craft a national framework that supports AI development while protecting residential ratepayers from higher electricity bills. The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy director, Michael Kratsios, called on Congress to "codify" a ratepayer protection pledge, first unveiled by President Donald Trump earlier in March, requiring tech companies to provide or pay for their own power use.
Several bills are now pending in Congress. The "No Harm Data Centers Act" would require environmental studies and give new powers to federal regulators, while the "GRID Act" in the Senate would mandate that all new data centers use their own power sources and that existing ones migrate off the grid within a decade. Yet, the White House’s policy framework has drawn fire from some Democrats. Senator Richard Blumenthal called it "pathetic and a non-starter," vowing to block what he sees as a weak proposal that preempts state laws.
Back in Vineland, the Planning Commission will soon decide whether to approve DataOne’s energy plan. The data center is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026, even as questions about its long-term impact linger. For now, residents like Scott Montgomery are left weighing their options. "Something that large, something with that many billions of dollars, they should be paying anybody’s property tax within, like, a square mile," he said. The debate over AI, energy, and community well-being is far from settled—but in Vineland and beyond, it’s only growing louder.