One of Sherrill’s main arguments is that ordinary New Jersey residents should not have to subsidize the enormous electricity demands created by data centers.
Under legislation signed earlier this summer, large data centers are required to bring new clean-energy resources onto the grid and contribute toward the infrastructure needed to serve them. A separate utility rate class was also established so that costs associated with massive new data center demand are not simply passed on to residential customers.
Sherrill has repeatedly connected the issue to affordability, saying data centers are among the major forces driving increased electricity demand at a time when New Jersey households are already struggling with high utility bills.
New Transparency Requirements for Water and Electricity
A new law signed by Sherrill requires data center owners and operators to report their energy and water consumption to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities every six months.
The reports must include information such as total electricity consumption, electricity used for cooling and computer equipment, peak daily water consumption, water sources and on-site or backup power generation.
Sherrill has said these requirements are intended to prevent major projects from operating “in the shadows” and to allow residents and local officials to understand the actual impact a facility could have on their community.
More Power for Municipalities
Another major part of the plan focuses on local control.
The state has issued guidance to help municipalities negotiate Community Benefits Agreements with data center developers. These agreements can address concerns including noise, light pollution, water consumption, environmental impacts and investments that developers are expected to make in the communities where they build.
New Jersey is also offering municipalities technical assistance through the Economic Development Authority, Department of Environmental Protection and Board of Public Utilities.
Sherrill says the goal is to ensure that towns are negotiating from a position of strength rather than allowing large technology companies to determine the terms of projects behind closed doors.
Jobs Must Benefit New Jersey Workers
The fourth pillar of the plan concerns employment.
Sherrill wants data center construction to provide good-paying jobs, including jobs for local tradespeople and union workers, with prevailing-wage requirements applying to qualifying projects.
She argues that if New Jersey is going to host infrastructure supporting the rapidly expanding artificial-intelligence industry, communities should receive tangible economic benefits from that development.
“Decisions Should Be Made in New Jersey”
In her latest message, Sherrill summed up the broader philosophy behind the plan:
“Decisions about the future of our communities should be made in New Jersey — not boardrooms or backrooms in Silicon Valley.”
Her administration is not proposing a statewide ban on data centers. Instead, it is attempting to establish rules governing their electricity costs, resource consumption, local negotiations and employment practices. Nearly 100 New Jersey municipalities have already moved independently to prohibit or restrict data centers, while some environmental groups continue to argue that the state should go further and impose a broader moratorium.
For Sherrill, however, the message remains straightforward: New Jersey can participate in the growth of artificial intelligence, but data centers must operate on the state’s terms — not the other way around.
Sources: Office of Governor Mikie Sherrill; New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; New Jersey Economic Development Authority;
By NJ RADAR Team