Unpermitted Data Center Generators Raise Questions About Noise Complaints
A New Jersey data center is facing a $1.07 million penalty after state inspectors discovered 62 natural-gas generators operating without the permits required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). In addition to air pollution, the generators have been identified as a source of noise pollution affecting nearby residents.
The generators are at DataOne’s facility in Vineland, where residents have been complaining for months about persistent industrial noise. The connection between the generators and the reported noise had raised questions.
NJDEP inspected the facility twice in the past year. During the last inspection, inspectors found 62 generators operating without the required air permits. The generators emit pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, in addition to carbon dioxide.
An investigation by Floodlight subsequently revealed the scale of the generator installation using drone and thermal imagery. Of more than 60 generators visible from the air, 45 were operating when the footage was recorded.
The timeline is significant. According to records obtained by Floodlight, the generators began arriving at the site in July 2025, with the first 16 becoming operational in October. By June 2026, all 62 were reportedly operating.
Meanwhile, residents had been reporting persistent noise from the facility. More than 100 noise complaints were submitted to the Cumberland County Department of Health. In May, a county health inspector responding to a complaint identified generators as a likely source of the noise and found that nighttime noise exceeded the applicable limit.
The state’s enforcement action concerns air permits rather than noise, and it does not establish that the generators are responsible for all of the noise experienced by nearby residents. Nevertheless, the discovery provides important new information about a facility that residents had been trying to understand for months.
DataOne says it intends to apply for permits for the temporary generators and eventually transition to fuel-cell technology described as lower-emission and quieter. Whether that transition will substantially change the noise environment around the facility remains to be seen.
For a multimillion-dollar data-center operation, a $1.07 million penalty may be viewed as little more than the corporate equivalent of a parking ticket.