Building New Jersey’s Digital Future

A data center is a secure physical facility that houses computer servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and the electrical, cooling, fire suppression, and backup power systems needed to operate them. Data centers make services such as online banking, electronic medical records, school platforms, emergency communications, streaming, cloud storage, business applications, and AI possible.

“The cloud” is not weightless or virtual. It depends on buildings, equipment, electricity, water, or other cooling resources, and skilled workers. That is why hiring and operating standards matter.

Demand for data processing is growing across households, businesses, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and emerging technologies. New Jersey is well-positioned for development because of its skilled workforce, location, telecommunications infrastructure, and proximity to major economic centers. But growing demand is not a reason to approve every project, subsidize development without a clear return, or place a facility in an unsuitable location. Each proposal should undergo project-specific review and demonstrate that its jobs, tax revenue, infrastructure plan, and community benefits justify its impacts and any public incentives.

Construction can employ electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, carpenters, laborers, operating engineers, ironworkers, HVAC technicians, engineers, and other skilled union professionals. Once operational, facilities may employ technicians, engineers, security personnel, facility managers, maintenance workers, and other professionals. Construction jobs and permanent operating jobs are different and should not be combined into one headline number.

Employment varies considerably by project size, design, construction duration, and operating model. Developers should disclose full-time equivalent estimates, job duration, wage and benefit levels, local hire assumptions, and the methodology behind their projections.

Data centers are complex, power-intensive facilities that require precise construction and strict safety practices. Union workers complete extensive classroom and on-the-job training and bring established safety, wage, benefit, and apprenticeship standards. Union construction is an important part of responsible development, but it does not substitute for scrutiny of energy, water, land use, emissions, tax incentives, or neighborhood impacts. Jersey Jobs First supports both high labor standards and strong community and environmental protections.

A project located in New Jersey does not automatically employ New Jersey residents. Local access should be a clear expectation. Jersey Jobs First supports project labor agreements (PLAs), local hiring commitments consistent with applicable law, partnerships with registered apprenticeship programs, outreach to historically excluded workers, and public reporting.

Developers seeking public support or community approval should explain who will be hired, how workers will be trained, how results will be measured, and what happens if commitments are missed.

Large data centers can require substantial and continuous electricity, but demand varies by facility size, workload, equipment, efficiency, and operating practices. Claims that data centers are either harmless to the grid or cause failure are too broad. Utilities and regulators should evaluate the actual load, connection timeline, generation and transmission needs, reliability risks, efficiency measures, and opportunities for flexible demand. Projects should not receive service until the grid can support them reliably, and developers should fund costs directly attributable to connecting and serving their facilities.

They should not, but protection is not automatic. Rate effects depend on the size and timing of new demand, required grid investments, and who bears the risk if projected demand changes. New large loads can help spread some fixed system costs, but only if rates and contracts recover the full cost of serving them and protect other customers from stranded investments. Jersey Jobs First supports transparent utility planning, project-specific cost allocation, minimum payment and other consumer safeguards where appropriate, and regulatory oversight that prevents households and small businesses from subsidizing private development.

Water use varies dramatically by cooling technology, climate, operating conditions, and the way electricity is generated. Some facilities use evaporative cooling. Others use closed-loop, air-cooled, hybrid, or other systems that can reduce direct on-site consumption.

“Waterless” may describe on-site cooling while overlooking water used elsewhere in the energy supply, so definitions matter. Developers should disclose projected annual and peak-day use, source and water quality, cooling technology, drought operations, wastewater impacts, and both direct and relevant indirect water demands. Commitments should be public, measurable, and enforceable, and projects should not compromise drinking water supplies or other community needs.

These are legitimate, site-specific concerns, not issues that can be resolved with a generic assurance. Review should address construction traffic, equipment and cooling noise, backup generator testing and emissions, lighting, setbacks, wetlands and habitat, visual impacts, emergency response, and compatibility with nearby homes and businesses. Claims about property values should be supported by local evidence rather than assumed in either direction. Approvals should require appropriate siting, sound modeling and limits, emissions controls, traffic and emergency plans, environmental protections, baseline measurements, ongoing monitoring, and a clear complaint and enforcement process after operations begin.

Responsible development balances economic opportunity with enforceable protections for workers, ratepayers, natural resources, taxpayers, and host communities. Sustainability labels, voluntary goals, projected tax revenue, or large investment figures are not substitutes for project-specific evidence. Responsible growth puts commitments in permits, agreements, or other enforceable documents, reports performance publicly, and establishes consequences when promises are not kept.

For Jersey Jobs First, that means: