Comprehensive Plan on Data Centers
The comprehensive plan includes four key pillars:
Developing strong Statewide standards for Community Benefit Agreements (CBA)
Issued Local Finance Notice through the Department of Community Affairs with guidance on Community Benefits Agreements and the launch of EDA’s data center community resource hub webpage.
Delivering good-paying jobs
Issued guidance on state labor standards for data center projects, including prevailing wage requirements and opportunities for project labor agreements.
The Municipal Resource Hub
The Municipal Resource Hub provides New Jersey municipalities with the technical assistance and model documents needed to evaluate and negotiate community benefit terms on proposed data center developments. Components include:
General Guidance
Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) are legally binding contracts between developers and host municipalities and/or local community groups that can serve to mitigate local impacts of large infrastructure projects and other types of development, such as data centers. These agreements can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the host community and to address the specific impacts of a project. The agreements typically provide the host community with a combination of financial and non-financial benefits. These agreements often require community engagement and can additionally serve as a vehicle for transparency around a particular project, detailing mutually agreed-to expectations for development between a project and community.
Before entering into a community benefits agreement with a data center developer, municipalities should understand the full scope of what the project may demand from local infrastructure, utilities, emergency services, and potential impacts to the surrounding community. The guidance below covers the baseline considerations every municipality should work through- from master plan conformance to resident and workforce impacts to fire protection readiness- before finalizing terms.
Technical Assistance
When a data center project is proposed, it often comes with technical documentation that requires specialized expertise to evaluate. The Hub connects municipalities with resources to understand what is being proposed, to allow for thorough project review at the municipal level.
We can help you:
Make sense of grid and interconnection filings
General guidance on what a requested power load can mean for local capacity, who typically bears the cost of grid upgrades, and whether a project may qualify for large-load electricity rates – to support your team’s own questions to the utility and developer.
Evaluate water usage projections
Background on common cooling technologies, how water and sewer demand is typically assessed against community capacity, and considerations for peak-day usage rather than averages alone.
Review tax and fiscal impact estimates
Reference points on how fiscal impact assumptions are commonly built, what protections other communities have sought if projected revenue doesn’t materialize, and how proposed terms compare to other New Jersey agreements.
Understand the Template CBA Documents
Plain-language guides to evaluate the components of a CBA and different community investment models along with the questions they typically raise, to give your team a starting point for internal discussion and its own legal and technical review.
Our Goal:
To provide technical assistance to municipalities evaluating proposed data center projects.
Need to reach energy or environment experts directly?
For grid, interconnection, and large-load electricity rate questions, or for water, air permitting, and environmental justice questions, you can also contact the relevant state agency directly.
NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)
For questions about energy source and usage including but not limited to: grid interconnection, system impact studies, and large-load tariff classification contact:
Ombudsman@bpu.nj.gov
NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
For questions about environmental impacts including but not limited to: water supply capacity, cooling technology and water usage disclosure, energy generation, air permitting, noise and light pollution, and Environmental Justice law review contact: datacentertechassistance@dep.nj.gov
Not sure which office to contact, or want help preparing your questions first? Reach out to the Hub at datacenterTA@njeda.gov and we’ll help you get to the right place.
Resource Library
Inclusion of any resource, author, or publication on this page does not constitute an endorsement by NJEDA or the State of New Jersey. These materials are provided as publicly available reference resources only.