More Than 100 New Jersey Towns Have Now Banned Data Centers
More Than 100 New Jersey Towns Have Now Banned Data Centers
From cities to farm towns, at least 110 communities across New Jersey have blocked AI data centers this year as residents across the political spectrum stand up against rising electric bills and pollution
NEW JERSEY — New Jersey has become the epicenter of the national fight against AI data centers, with more towns banning the energy-hungry facilities than any other state.
Since the start of the year, 110 New Jersey municipalities have banned data centers, according to a new tally released by Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN), the grassroots Gen-Z led organization leading the statewide fight. More than 2.3 million people now live somewhere that’s banned data centers, representing one in four New Jersey residents.
“I've been to council meetings all over the state and met thousands of people over the last year, and the only ones I’ve heard defend data centers are the ones personally profiting from them. I can’t overstate how much people hate data centers right now,” said Ben Dziobek, Executive Director of Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN).
Communities across the country are pushing back against data centers, but no one is paying more for them than New Jersey, where electricity bills are rising faster than any other state at nearly three times the national average. The facilities have also been caught polluting the air with unpermitted gas generators, spilling thousands of gallons of diesel fuel into a river, and keeping residents awake around the clock.
“Data centers are driving up electric bills, polluting the air, and humming throughout the night. It’s easy to see why town after town keeps saying no, and we don’t expect that to slow down anytime soon,” said Ben Dziobek. “If you live somewhere that hasn’t passed a ban, now’s the time. There are only so many places left for these things to go.”
The local bans cross party and geographic lines, from urban Democratic strongholds like East Orange and Jersey City to Republican towns like Stafford at the Jersey Shore and Upper Pittsgrove in Salem County farm country.
Gen-Z volunteers from CRAN have worked alongside residents and local activists across the state to pass local data center bans, helping community members organize, pack council meetings, direct calls and emails to local officials, and adopt a model ordinance they drafted with the Pinelands Alliance. CRAN also leverages their large online following, sharing videos of local council meetings that go viral and draw millions of views every month.
CRAN is part of a growing coalition working to pass a statewide moratorium on data centers, including the Pinelands Alliance, Food & Water Watch, and Sustain South Jersey. Together, the groups are calling for a three-year moratorium so the state has time to enact safeguards that protect residents from rising electric bills, air pollution, and noise pollution.
“We’re all paying the price for data centers, regardless of what town they’re in,” said Dziobek. “The local bans are doing a great job of slowing them down, but this is an issue that really has to be addressed at the state level. New Jersey needs to pass a statewide moratorium, and we won’t stop pressuring the governor until we get one.”
###
New Jersey Municipalities that Banned Data Centers, in ABC Order (County):
- Alexandria (Hunterdon)
- Allamuchy (Warren)
- Alpha (Warren)
- Andover Township (Sussex)
- Andover Borough (Sussex)
- Asbury Park (Monmouth)
- Bass River (Burlington)
- Bayonne (Hudson)
- Belleville (Essex)
- Berkeley Township (Ocean)
- Berkeley Heights (Union)
- Bernards (Somerset)
- Blairstown (Warren)
- Burlington Township (Burlington)
- Carneys Point (Salem)
- Cherry Hill (Camden)
- Chesterfield (Burlington)
- Clark (Union)
- Clementon (Camden)
- Collingswood (Camden)
- Commercial (Cumberland)
- Cranbury (Middlesex)
- Cresskill (Bergen)
- Deerfield (Cumberland)
- Delanco (Burlington)
- Delaware (Hunterdon)
- East Brunswick (Middlesex)
- East Greenwich (Gloucester)
- East Orange (Essex)
- East Windsor (Mercer)
- Edgewater Park (Burlington)
- Elizabeth (Union)
- Elk (Gloucester)
- Elsinboro (Salem)
- Estell Manor (Atlantic)
- Franklin Township (Gloucester)
- Franklin Township (Somerset)
- Frelinghuysen (Warren)
- Galloway (Atlantic)
- Glassboro (Gloucester)
- Green (Sussex)
- Hackettstown (Warren)
- Hainesport (Burlington)
- Hamilton Township (Atlantic)
- Hampton (Sussex)
- Hardyston (Sussex)
- Harrison (Gloucester)
- Highland Park (Middlesex)
- Holland Township (Hunterdon)
- Holmdel (Monmouth)
- Howell (Monmouth)
- Jackson (Ocean)
- Jersey City (Hudson)
- Kingwood (Hunterdon)
- Knowlton (Warren)
- Lebanon (Hunterdon)
- Leonia (Bergen)
- Liberty (Warren)
- Logan (Gloucester)
- Lopatcong (Warren)
- Madison (Morris)
- Manchester (Ocean)
- Mannington (Salem)
- Mansfield Township (Burlington)
- Mansfield Township (Warren)
- Mantua (Gloucester)
- Medford (Burlington)
- Millstone (Monmouth)
- Millville (Cumberland)
- Monroe Township (Gloucester)
- Montgomery (Somerset)
- Neptune Township (Monmouth)
- New Providence (Union)
- North Brunswick (Middlesex)
- North Hanover (Burlington)
- North Plainfield (Somerset)
- Old Bridge (Middlesex)
- Oldmans (Salem)
- Peapack-Gladstone (Somerset)
- Pemberton Township (Burlington)
- Pennsville (Salem)
- Phillipsburg (Warren)
- Pilesgrove (Salem)
- Pittsgrove Township (Salem)
- Plainfield (Union)
- Plumsted (Ocean)
- Pohatcong (Warren)
- Quinton (Salem)
- Red Bank (Monmouth)
- Ridgefield Park (Bergen)
- Rockaway (Morris)
- Roselle Park (Union)
- Sayreville (Middlesex)
- Shamong (Burlington)
- South Plainfield (Middlesex)
- Sparta (Sussex)
- Stafford (Ocean)
- Summit (Union)
- Tinton Falls (Monmouth)
- Union (Union)
- Upper Pittsgrove Township (Salem)
- Upper Township (Cape May)
- Vernon (Sussex)
- Warren Township (Somerset)
- Washington Borough (Warren)
- Washington Township (Gloucester)
- Washington Township (Warren)
- Waterford (Camden)
- West Amwell (Hunterdon)
- Woodstown (Salem)
About Climate Revolution Action Network New Jersey (CRAN)
Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN) is New Jersey's largest Gen-Z political organization. CRAN is leading the fight to ban AI data centers across New Jersey, training and working alongside local residents to pass bans in their communities.
