New Jersey environmental regulators fined data center operator DataOne $1.1 million after a drone investigation revealed it was running dozens of gas generators without required permits. The fine, announced by the state Department of Environmental Protection, followed reporting by The Guardian and Floodlight News in August that shared thermal drone footage showing 45 of DataOne's 62 gas generators in operation. None of the generators held permits required for units with 37-kilowatt capacity or higher, even though they were running at 1,982-kilowatt capacities, more than 50 times the state threshold.
DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak described the enforcement action as the largest ever taken against a data center in New Jersey and said data centers would not be built or operated with impunity in the state. The DEP tracks gas generators like DataOne's because they release carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other combustion-related pollutants, which officials noted can worsen asthma, trigger heart attacks and cause early deaths. DataOne has 45 days to apply for the permits or stop operating, but it may keep running the gas engines while its applications are pending.
DataOne told The New York Times it disagreed with the fine and would apply for air permits for the temporary generators. A company spokesperson said the data center is transitioning to low-emission, quiet fuel cells, which would eventually replace the gas generators. DataOne had previously told Floodlight it remains committed to meeting all applicable environmental and permitting requirements. Residents near the Vineland data center, which powers Microsoft's AI tools including Copilot, say their trust is broken.
Neighbors first raised concerns at a public town hall in February and question why it took state and local officials six months to enforce pollution controls. Tiffany Leone-Vespa, a mother of 18 years in the neighborhood, asked what residents have been breathing since the generators began running without permits and whether air quality has ever been measured. Steve Brown, another longtime Vineland resident, said the episode reflects a don't-ask-permission, ask-forgiveness-later approach that would not deter similar threats, adding that the fine is a drop in the bucket for a company with several billion dollars of capital.
Sustain SJ co-chair Nichole Gardner called the penalty insufficient in dollar amount and enforcement, arguing DataOne should stop operating during the 45-day permit period. Zac Landicini, who founded the environmental nonprofit Sustain SJ, said a farmer innocuously photographing a neighboring golf course first spotted a unit on satellite imagery, prompting his comments at the February town hall. State inspectors who visited the 2.6 million-square-foot complex in July found tractor-trailer-size generators that were impossible to miss and had not been present during a December 2025 visit, according to the Times.
New Jersey has more than 80 data centers planned or under construction, and DataOne is the first operator in the state to rely on gas generators for an off-grid supply. Public backlash recently pushed the state to pass a law ending data center tax credits, blocking developers from a fund that had offered $250 million in incentives. Floodlight reported that DataOne withdrew its application for about 30 generators in May after the DEP found multiple deficiencies, and maintenance logs showed the problematic generators had been in use, some since October. Sustain SJ is advocating for a statewide moratorium on new projects until residents gain more transparency and a voice in operations.
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