Vineland AI Site Linked to Microsoft Faces Stop-Work Orders and Generator Permit Questions

DataOne says it is committed to meeting environmental and permitting requirements at its Vineland, New Jersey, project. Yet the state says it has issued no permits for power generators at the site and has none under review, while Vineland has issued multiple stop-work orders. The result is a mounting compliance question around a facility planned to supply dedicated AI capacity to Microsoft through Nebius.

The project is not a conventional cloud facility with a modest local footprint. DataOne broke ground in 2025 on a planned 2.6-million-square-foot complex. Nebius signed a multiyear agreement in October 2025 to deliver dedicated Microsoft capacity from the Vineland data center, tying the site’s development to demand from one of AI’s largest buyers.

Floodlight and The Guardian found at least 45 of 62 gas-powered generators operating at once at the facility, according to an account of their investigation. A New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson said the agency has issued no generator permits for DataOne and has no generator permit applications under review. The agency has not reached a final compliance determination.

62Generators identified

Investigators identified 62 gas-powered generators at the Vineland facility.

At least 45Operating simultaneously

The investigation found at least 45 generators operating simultaneously.

2.6 millionPlanned complex

DataOne’s planned complex is 2.6 million square feet.

The generator issue is only one part of the conflict. Residents have filed an ongoing lawsuit over persistent noise, and people living within roughly a half-mile of the site reported a low nighttime hum. The facility is about a mile from two schools, according to the account describing the generator investigation.

The project also faces allegations that it built a 1.5-million-gallon liquefied-natural-gas storage tank without required permits. A third-party engineering review said the site’s stormwater system may not comply with state rules and could create on-site and off-site flooding risks. The same review said annual groundwater recharge was underestimated by at least 20 million gallons.

Construction began before the October 2025 Nebius agreement, according to Sustain South Jersey chair Matt Williams. Residents learned the project was an AI data center after a reported $19.4 billion deal involving roughly 100,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs for Microsoft became public. Vineland then held a town hall in January 2026; DataOne CEO Charles-Antoine Beyney acknowledged it should have happened months earlier.

DataOne did not specifically address the generator allegations, saying it remains committed to applicable environmental and permitting requirements. New Jersey has yet to make its full compliance determination, leaving the permit and broader compliance questions unresolved.