In the United States, fierce local opposition to new data center construction continues to dog developers hoping to cash in on the AI boom.
Though grassroots organizers have threatened some $130 billion in data center investments, those efforts don’t always pan out, and it’s next to impossible to oust one of the facilities once they’ve taken root.
But even after a data center goes online, the battle is far from over. Take the DataOne facility in southern New Jersey, for example, which was recently slapped with a $1 million fine by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection after inspectors uncovered illegally installed gas-powered generators belching smog into the surrounding neighborhood.
That’s according to Gothamist, which reports that the data center in Vineland, New Jersey was found operating 62 gas generators without state approval, a scheme that’s becoming increasingly common as the energy-hungry facilities run up against the limits of what publicly-run power grids can provide.
