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New Jersey Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across New Jersey — updated daily.
Recent New Jersey data center news
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Beyond the Megawatt: Why Data Center Site Selection Is Now a Three-Front Battle
The article provides commentary and analysis on a new regulatory environment for data center development in the United States, not a single new company announcement.
- State regulators and governors in California, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Oregon are tightening oversight of grid costs, water reporting, and land-use approvals for data centers.
- The piece cites specific rules and actions including California’s AB 1577, AB 2383, and SB 887, Massachusetts Executive Order 658, New York’s Host Community Investment Framework, and Texas permitting and water-use reporting actions.
- It also notes cost and reporting thresholds such as 25 MW in Massachusetts, $1 million per megawatt in New York’s framework, and an average 29% rate increase for some Oregon large energy users.
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Von Neumann’s party
Nature has published a science-fiction short story in which an unnamed narrator is repeatedly asked, “Were you at von Neumann’s party?”
- The story is a fictional narrative set in Princeton and references John von Neumann, Institute for Advanced Studies, IBM, and a hall of servers in a data centre-like room.
- It is not a real-world announcement or deal; the piece is literary commentary/fiction, with no commitments, prices, or project details disclosed.
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How Data Center-Driven Load Growth Is Reshaping the Renewable Energy Market
This article is a commentary/opinion piece by Evelyn Carpenter, CEO of Invera Energy, about how data center-driven load growth is changing renewable energy market requirements.
- It argues that speed-to-power, reliability, scalability, and certainty of energization are becoming more important for hyperscale data center developers than price alone.
- It discusses solar, battery storage, hybrid behind-the-meter and grid-tied solutions, plus emerging commercial structures, but does not announce a specific project or deal.
- The article also includes unrelated Experience POWER conference listings in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 28–30, 2026 with panel sessions and speakers.
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4.5-foot-thick walls needed to absorb data center noise: researcher
The article reports a commentary and technical guidance from biology professor Kasey Fowler-Finn on data center noise mitigation, rather than a new company announcement.
- Fowler-Finn says data centers emit low-frequency hum from large HVAC and cooling systems that can travel farther than high-frequency noise and may require 4.5-foot-thick walls at 63 Hz or 14-foot-thick walls at 20 Hz to mitigate.
- Her guidance recommends third-octave band sound pressure testing and setback distances of at least 1,500 feet; it also references lawsuits in Vineland, New Jersey; Dowagiac, Michigan; North Tonawanda, New York; and Hood County, Texas and a September survey by Science for Georgia and Quiet Communities.
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Data center growth could mean blackouts in coming years, Pa. utility regulators say
Pennsylvania officials and grid stakeholders are warning that rapid data center growth could increase electricity outage risk in the Philadelphia region and across PJM. The report is a recent analysis referenced in the article, not a first-person announcement by a company.
- The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission released a report, prepared by Synapse Energy Economics, saying that by 2030 the regional grid could fail to meet demand six times every 10 years on average, and in a worst-case scenario could see blackouts 13 days per year.
- The article says PJM Interconnection and state/federal officials may need to act, including possible rules requiring data centers to bring their own generation; it also cites Gov. Josh Shapiro’s executive order tying easier permit approval to developers bringing or buying new power.
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Mobilizing for Techno-Economic War, Part 7: Transforming Regulatory Policy
ITIF has published a policy report arguing for a major transformation of U.S. regulatory policy to support national techno-economic competition with China.
- The report says Congress should centralize national issues such as AI regulation, preempt many state privacy/AI laws, and reduce federal barriers for nationally important projects such as industrial parks, infrastructure, and data centers.
- It also argues for NEPA repeal, Section 404 repeal, size-neutral rules, antitrust reform, and a new Commerce Department process to designate up to 100 projects per year for streamlined approval; it also proposes federally designated industrial readiness zones of 50–100 sites of at least 3,000 acres each.
- Monetary values mentioned include $98 billion–$112 billion annually in potential out-of-state privacy compliance costs, $1 trillion+ over 10 years, $650 million in a Facebook BIPA-related settlement cited in the report, and $100 billion a year for carbon removal referenced in a supporting example.
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Noise lawsuit is latest in legal wave hitting data center operations
Microsoft has been sued in federal district court over alleged noise nuisance from its Fairwater data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.
- The proposed class action claims a low-level hum from cooling systems and generators is not captured by dBA monitors, and asks for millions in compensation for residents.
- The article says this is one of several noise-related lawsuits filed this year against data centers; similar cases have been filed in Mississippi, New Jersey, Michigan, New York, and Texas, while an environmental nuisance case against Amazon reportedly settled for more than $20 million.
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United States and Cameroon Announce $7 Billion in Investment and Trade Opportunities at Inaugural Economic and Commercial Dialogue
The United States and Cameroon have announced approximately $7 billion in new and expanding investment and trade opportunities during the inaugural U.S.-Cameroon Bilateral Economic and Commercial Dialogue.
- The announcement covers sectors including technology, critical minerals, infrastructure, energy, forestry, and logistics, and the two sides agreed to establish joint working groups and continue the Dialogue ahead of the next meeting in 2027, which the United States will host.
- Specific projects mentioned include Tronox/Lion Rock‘s $500 million rutile project, ARM‘s planned $85 million cobalt-nickel-manganese project in Nkamouna, Hydromine‘s proposed $3.5 billion, 1,040-MW Grand Eweng Hydropower Project, and Cybastion‘s $75 million AI-powered data center and power plant in Douala.
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PJM’s Power Shortfall Puts Data Center Growth in Focus
PJM has announced a proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement to address a 6.8 GW capacity shortfall for the 2028/29 delivery year and support rapidly growing large-load demand, including data centers.
- PJM filed the Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 31 after board approval; the procurement is intended to begin Sept. 30, with results expected in December, subject to FERC approval.
- The RBP would secure resources for terms of up to 15 years and includes a maximum weighted-average willingness to pay of $555 per MW-day; PJM’s July Base Residual Auction procured 138,318 MW, leaving 6,831.3 MW UCAP below the Reliability Requirement, while PJM expects roughly 70 GW of new large load by 2038.
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INNIO Expands Waukesha Site to Meet Growing Demand for Decentralized Energy Solutions in the U.S.
INNIO N.V. has announced plans to invest more than $300 million in its Waukesha, Wisconsin facility and create more than 500 jobs over the coming years.
- The company plans to add new engine assembly capabilities, build an advanced engine testing facility of more than 80,000 square feet, and renovate office and shop floor space to improve operational efficiency.
- INNIO says the expanded site will support customers in the U.S. data center sector, while also serving power grids and industrial operations; the Waukesha campus spans about 1.7 million square feet with nearly 890,000 square feet of manufacturing and operational space.