One of east coast’s largest datacenters accused of ‘violating federal law’

Thermal drone footage shows a Microsoft-backed AI datacenter powering its operations with dozens of unpermitted generators

The largest planned AI datacenter in New Jersey is being accused of violating federal law after a visual investigation found the site running dozens of unpermitted gas-powered generators.

Thermal drone footage captured by the non-profit newsroom Floodlight last week showed the partly completed DataOne facility in Vineland was operating at least 45 of the site’s 62 generators at the time.

The datacenter has stirred controversy since breaking ground in 2025 due to persistent noise complaints, unpermitted construction and a contentious zoning process. It’s located about 40 miles (64km) outside Philadelphia and slated to provide AI computing power to Microsoft as part of a $17bn deal with Nebius, a Dutch AI infrastructure giant.

The facility is one of many across the US that have faced opposition from local residents concerned about their impacts.

Located roughly a mile from two schools, the site’s tractor-trailer-size generators emit substantial amounts of health-harming air pollution linked to asthma , heart attacks and even premature death .

Federal and state law requires DataOne “to have a final permit before bringing those generators on site, and certainly before firing them up”, Bruce Buckheit, a former EPA air enforcement chief, told Floodlight.

Buckheit, who served under multiple Republican administrations, believes DataOne’s activities “violate federal law” and that the company should immediately stop operating the generators and pay a fine for “their illegal emissions”.

A New Jersey department of environmental protection (NJDEP) spokesperson confirmed that the agency “has issued no permits, nor are any permit applications under review for power generators at the DataOne facility in Vineland”.

The spokesperson said the agency noticed the generators during a site inspection on 29 July and had yet to make “a full compliance determination”. They declined to answer follow-up questions.

Buckheit said: “That one might be seeing administrative enforcement action [soon].”

DataOne did not respond to questions regarding its unpermitted generators but said the company “remains committed to meeting all applicable environmental and permitting requirements”.

Nebius did not respond to requests for comment by publication. Microsoft declined to comment.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told Floodlight, after being presented with its findings, that New Jersey’s regulators are responsible for air permitting over DataOne.

The ‘bring your own power’ datacenter strategy

DataOne is the first datacenter in New Jersey seeking to build its own power plant.

The controversial tactic was pioneered by Elon Musk’s datacenters along the Tennessee and Mississippi border and has since gone mainstream: nationwide, nearly 60 datacenters are planning to build their own gas plants, according to research by energy analytics firm Cleanview.

The “bring your own power” strategy has resulted in years-long backlogs for gas-powered turbines, with facilities increasingly turning to even less conventional energy sources, such as modified jet engines and portable generators.

In Vineland, DataOne originally planned for more than 30 Bergen gas-burning engines, which are commonly used to propel cruise ships. The NJDEP, however, found multiple deficiencies in DataOne’s air permit application for the engines, according to public records reviewed by Floodlight.

DataOne withdrew the application in May and instead now plans to rely on an array of Bloom fuel cells capable of producing 300MW. Though powered by gas, fuel cells use a combustion-free electrochemical process to generate electricity and result in far less health-harming air pollution than Bergen engines.

However, the fuel cells still produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, and a Bloom official testified that, if completed, they could emit more than 2bn pounds of the climate-warming gas every year.

Until the fuel cells are operational, however, the facility is relying on the unpermitted gas generators, the first of which appear to have been turned on in October, according to maintenance logs.

It’s unclear how long the equipment has been operational, but thermal drone footage captured by a data intelligence company appears to show 25 of the unpermitted gas generators operating in late June.

Local residents have complained of a pervasive humming noise coming from the datacenter for months, sparking a class-action lawsuit in New Jersey federal court over noise pollution that many suspect is linked to the generators. Andrew and Stevi Groetsch live less than a mile from the site and say the noise has woken them in the middle of the night and often disturbs bedtime stories with their kids.

“It’s just constant. It never goes away,” Andrew Groetsch said. The couple has complained about the noise since November and hope the NJDEP, the county and the EPA will “at least get that part of it shut down and put a closer eye” on the rest of the project.

“If you don’t follow one rule, what makes us have any reason to believe that you would then follow others?” Stevi Groetsch asked. “It’s so upsetting.”

If the NJDEP decides to issue an enforcement action over the unpermitted generators, it wouldn’t be the first time New Jersey officials have cited DataOne for violations.

In March, the Cumberland county department of public health cited DataOne for violating noise ordinances for night-time sound levels at the site, according to a lawsuit brought by local residents. Earlier this month, the city of Vineland issued two stop-work orders, including for moving the fuel cells on site without permission – the same fuel cells meant to eventually replace the unpermitted generators.

“It seems that this industry, in particular, values speed to market more than almost anything else,” Buckheit said. He suspects the company won’t stop operating the generators until they are issued a stop-work order because they “seem to believe that it’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission”.

This story is from Floodlight , a non-profit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action. Sign up for Floodlight’s newsletter here