Americans oppose data centers. We went to find out why | America, Actually

TL;DR

Residents near a massive New Jersey data center oppose it over skipped community input, rising energy bills, noise, and fears about property values.

Key Points

• 1.The Data 1 data center in Vineland, NJ is one of the largest in the Northeast. At 2.6 million square feet and 300–350 megawatts, it will consume roughly twice the electricity of the entire city of Vineland and use 20 million gallons of water per year.
• 2.Residents say they received zero advance notice before construction began. A show of hands at the town hall confirmed not a single attendee felt informed before the project started, fueling accusations that approval was 'shoved through' without community input.
• 3.Congressional candidate Bailey Winder is channeling the backlash into a political campaign. He organized a well-attended rally that caused Vineland city government to postpone an expansion vote by two months, and is calling for a short-term nationwide moratorium on data center development.
• 4.Community opposition is explicitly bipartisan. Town hall attendees included Democrats, Republicans, and independents united by frustration that corporations and political insiders received preferential treatment over ordinary residents.
• 5.Job creation promises are viewed skeptically by residents and advocates. Data 1 claims a few hundred jobs for 2.5 million square feet, but critics note there is no guarantee those jobs materialize, no union requirement, and Cumberland County — the poorest county in New Jersey — is seen as a target precisely because it lacks political leverage.
• 6.Energy costs and water use are the core substantive concerns. Data centers nationally account for roughly 5% of U.S. electricity consumption; residents connect the center's construction to spikes in their electricity bills, though a direct causal link has not been established.
• 7.Property values are a tangible personal harm driving opposition. One resident reported her home has been on the market since February with cash buyers backing out specifically because of the data center's proximity, illustrating how abstract policy debates translate into real financial loss.