NEW JERSEY FINES DATAONE OVER UNPERMITTED GAS GENERATORS

New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection has fined DataOne, which runs a data centre supporting Microsoft's AI operations, for installing and operating 62 natural gas generators without the required permits. Officials said none of the units held the reconstruction permit or operating certificate required under the state's Air Pollution Control Act. One report put the fine at $1.07 million, while another cited $1.1 million. DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak called it the largest fine imposed on a data centre in New Jersey.

Accounts differ on how the generators came to light: one report said a local farmer photographing a neighbouring golf course noticed equipment at the site, prompting an investigation, while another credited an investigation by The Guardian and Floodlight News, using thermal drone footage in August that showed 45 of the 62 generators running. Each unit is rated at 1,982 kilowatts, more than 50 times New Jersey's 37-kilowatt permit threshold, giving the full set a combined capacity of about 123 megawatts. Officials said the generators emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, which they said can worsen asthma and trigger heart attacks. DataOne has 45 days to apply for the permits and may keep running the generators meanwhile.

DataOne said it disagreed with the fine but would apply for the required permits and remained in contact with the department about the findings and a fuel cell transition timeline. Nichole Gardner, co-chair of local environmental group Sustain SJ, said the fine was too small and poorly enforced. She said DataOne should have been required to stop operating during the 45-day permit window. The case is seen as a test of how New Jersey regulates data centres supporting AI computing.