NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill lays out plan to establish guardrails for data centers in Garden State

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced a four-part plan on Wednesday to establish guardrails around data centers in the Garden State.

It's an effort to hold data centers accountable, while positioning the state to lead in AI innovation, according to Sherrill.

"While many states are approaching this issue piecemeal, this is the first comprehensive plan to tackle it holistically," she said.

The plan requires data centers to pay for their own energy, operate transparently, add value to communities, and support good-paying jobs long term.

The governor wants to establish "fair-share rules," which she says would ensure data centers bring new clean energy and contribute to the grid infrastructure.

Sherrill says these guardrails are also important to keep utility bills down for New Jersey residents.

The plan would also include data centers reporting their energy and water costs. It would allow communities to have a position of strength to address community concerns such as light, noise and pollution.

Lastly, she wants to ensure that data centers hire locally and pay standard wages.