New Jersey data center and energy laws

What it would do: Requires owners or operators of data centers in New Jersey to submit quarterly water and energy usage reports to the Board of Public Utilities containing facility information, energy and water consumption data, performance calculations, and sustainability indicators, with reports published on the BPU website within 30 days.

What it would do: Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct an evaluation of water use effects by large-scale data centers on drinking water, wastewater systems, and the environment within one year, and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature within fifteen months.

What it would do: Prohibits applicants for data center development from entering into non-disclosure agreements with approving authorities, municipal agencies, and property sellers to conceal development details, declaring such agreements against public policy and unenforceable, and bars approvals if violated.

What it would do: Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct an evaluation of water use effects by large-scale data centers on drinking water, wastewater systems, and the environment within one year, and submit findings to the Governor and Legislature within fifteen months.

What it would do: Prohibits costs and obligations related to large-load addition customers from being passed to non-large-load customers. Requires large-load addition customers to bear curtailment obligations and provide financial security ensuring reliability procurement costs do not transfer to other New Jersey customers.

What it would do: Requires data center owners and operators to submit semi-annual water and energy usage reports to the Board of Public Utilities for three years, including basic facility information and energy and water consumption data, with additional performance and sustainability metrics required for facilities receiving state financial incentives.

What it would do: Reduces tax credits available for the Next New Jersey Program by $250 million, reallocating those credits back to the New Jersey Aspire Program and Emerge Program.

What it would do: Requires each electric public utility to file a tariff with the Board of Public Utilities for large load data centers with at least 100 megawatts maximum monthly demand, designed to protect non-data center ratepayers from increased costs and incentivize energy efficiency.

What it would do: Requires AI data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities to submit energy usage plans to the Board of Public Utilities and derive all electricity from new Class I renewable energy or newly constructed nuclear power plants, measured hourly with no net decrease to the grid.

What it would do: Requires each electric public utility to file a tariff with the Board of Public Utilities within 180 days for providing electricity to data centers, designed to protect non-data center ratepayers from increased costs and incentivize data center energy efficiency, to be applied one year after enactment.

What it would do: Requires prevailing wage payment for data center construction projects with 250+ kilowatts electrical capacity or 500+ kilowatt-hours average usage, and imposes contractor registration, insurance, bonding, safety training, background check, and labor agreement requirements on such projects.

What it would do: Requires electric public utilities to file tariffs with the Board of Public Utilities within 180 days establishing special rates for large load data centers with at least 100 megawatts maximum monthly demand, designed to protect non-data center ratepayers from increased costs and incentivize energy efficiency.

What it would do: Requires contractors performing construction on data center projects with annual electrical usage of five megawatts or greater to pay prevailing wage rates and comply with registration, insurance, bonding, safety training, and worker documentation requirements.

What it would do: Requires the Board of Public Utilities to conduct a study evaluating the potential deployment of advanced transmission technologies by electric utilities, including their costs, benefits, and feasibility for reducing grid congestion and increasing transmission capacity, with a report due within one year.

What it would do: Establishes advanced nuclear reactor, distributed energy storage, and demand optimization programs administered by the Board of Public Utilities to support grid reliability and affordability through construction of at least 1,100 megawatts of advanced nuclear capacity, 500 megawatts of battery storage, and 500 megawatts of peak demand reduction by 2030.

What it would do: Requires data center owners or operators to submit annual water and energy usage reports to the Board of Public Utilities within one year of the effective date and annually thereafter, including energy consumption, water usage, performance metrics, and sustainability indicators. The Board must publish reports on its website within 30 days.

What it would do: Upon the Board of Public Utilities finding that a majority of PJM region states have similar requirements, requires all electricity supplied to AI data centers in New Jersey to derive from new Class I renewable energy or nuclear power, and requires applicants to submit energy usage plans for board approval before connecting to the transmission system.

What it would do: Requires the Board of Public Utilities to study within one year how data centers affect electricity costs in New Jersey, including whether non-data center customers subsidize data center costs and whether to implement special tariffs for data centers.

What it would do: Requires operating data centers to submit annual reports to DEP containing basic information, greenhouse gas emissions, energy demands, water quality violations, and community benefit agreements. Requires DEP to establish a public Data Center Transparency Dashboard publishing these reports within 90 days.

What it would do: Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to study environmental, infrastructural, and financial impacts of data center development and submit a report within 15 months. Prohibits construction of new data centers and permit issuance until 90 days after the report is submitted.

What it would do: Requires data center developers to hold community meetings, send direct mail notices within five miles, coordinate social media posts, and provide multilingual information before preliminary site plan approval. Requires the Department of Community Affairs to maintain a public portal aggregating data center development notices.

What it would do: Requires data center permit applicants to prepare environmental justice impact statements and conduct public hearings in affected communities one year after the bill's effective date, and authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to deny new data center permits if approval would cause disproportionate cumulative environmental or public health stressors.

What it would do: Requires operational data centers and proposed data centers in New Jersey to submit annual reports to the Department of Environmental Protection containing operational details, emissions data, energy demands, and community benefit agreements. Requires DEP to establish a public Data Center Transparency Dashboard publishing these reports within 90 days.

What it would do: Establishes a six-month moratorium on state approvals, permits, subsidies, and tax incentives for artificial intelligence data centers exceeding 10 megawatts electrical demand. Creates a 12-member commission to study impacts on electrical grid, water, environment, public health, labor, and municipal finances, requiring a report within 24 months.