Cumberland County
March 21 rally in Vineland demanding answers about the data center
Like a lot of people across South Jersey, I’ve been really concerned about the 300-plus megawatt data center project in Vineland and the questions it raises about energy usage, water consumption, environmental impact, and the lack of transparency in the approval process.
At the February 24 Vineland City Council meeting, I spoke during public comment and raised concerns that many residents have been talking about. My main point was simple: projects of this scale deserve serious public scrutiny and clear answers for the community.
During the meeting I raised the question of whether any current or former NJ public officials involved had received compensation connected to the project.
The reaction was wild. Council President Paul Spinelli interrupted me and threatened to sue me for slander, saying: "I won't win the case, but you'll pay".
When a community member asks questions about a project that affects South Jersey in so many ways, the response shouldn’t be legal threats. We deserve open discussion and transparency when major decisions are being made.
That’s one of the reasons we've organized a community rally in Vineland on March 21 alongside Sustain SJ, to make sure our voices are heard as we demand answers about a project that will affect this area for decades to come. It’s time for our community to speak up and hold politicians accountable.
Here's thelinkto RSVP, join us in Vineland on March 21 at 2 PM at the Albert V. Giampietro Memorial Park. See you there!
A council president threatening to sue a resident for asking questions at a public meeting is exactly why this stuff needs sunlight. 350 megawatts is massive — for context, that's enough to power roughly 300,000 homes.
We've been tracking the Vineland Nebius/DataOne project on poweredbywho.com alongside the PAC money flowing to NJ politicians from data center interests. Just added the March 21 rally to the project timeline. Hope the turnout is huge.
That lawsuit threat is unreal. At a public meeting no less. Admitting he'll lose, spend city money to do it, just to hassle someone asking honest questions.
Like damn dude, the question was "Are you a crooked city official?" And the response is "I'm going to use city time, money, and resources so you stop asking me the wrong questions"?
It’s gotta be illegal for a public official to threaten a lawsuit after being asked a question at a public forum, right? Have you looked into any repercussions for the council president?
The ACLU was notified but they take some time to write back. Spinelli’s campaign did get money from the developer and investor of the data center, John Ruga and Northeast Precast.
No formal apology or explanation towards the community at this time (members of the council have publicly apologized in the past for their behavior towards the public at emotionally charged city council meetings).
Mr. Spinelli may have read at least part of his Bible, he was saying “bless you” to all the public comment speakers at the most recent meeting. It came across a tad condescending (like he was aiming for “bless your heart”) but I assume Mr. Spinelli is praying for his enemies like Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:44.
In Matthew 7:12, Jesus taught the Golden Rule, “whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them.” I can’t imagine Mr. Spinelli would like to be the target of a meritless SLAPP lawsuit, therefore he should not be threatening frivolous lawsuits against members of his community.
Definitely needs scrutiny cause my girlfriend lives just down the street and had no idea what was being built. When the huge walls went up we were thinking a prison 🤷♂️
I think others just thought it was going to be part of the golf course Mike Trout is building, which is yet another business that will be receiving tax breaks so the City Council can get their palms greased.
And the hum you will hear that will never go away, but I suspect you may eventually become used to it. Keep an eye on your water pressure in your homes if you live that Close.
It’s mostly so that the development capex isn’t on their books, not to avoid being “stuck” with the asset. They sign very long leases as a high credit tenant, the asset is incredibly valuable.
Interesting. I used to live in Boulder about a mile away from a huge IBM one and it was basically silent except sometimes when backup generators were running.
The DC in Vineland is both a power plant and server racks. Many (most?) data centers simply buy their power from the utility company so you’d only hear the server fans and maybe a backup generator.
The new trend of data centers bringing their own power is sometimes called “behind the meter” or “off grid.”
The 30+ Bergen engines DataOne will use for power generation (assuming they get the NJDEP permits) are the same type of engines used in cruise ships. I’m not aware of any other data center in the country with as many Bergen engines and an equivalent sized setup (although I haven’t researched it in depth).
They had to expand the underground pipeline so DataOne could be delivered sufficient natural gas for their Bergen engines.
We need to stop using natural gas too. It’s methane. Far far worse of a greenhouse gas than co2 and the system leaks like crazy. My neighbors yard bubbles with saturated soil and heavy rain.
So if they are creating their own power and are essentially their own microgrid, then it’s confusing when people are concerned about their power usage? If they run on natural gas then there is that aspect of being tied to our utilities. I’ll look up those Bergen engines. I hadn’t heard of them.
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u/Willy_McNibbler Mar 12 '26
A council president threatening to sue a resident for asking questions at a public meeting is exactly why this stuff needs sunlight. 350 megawatts is massive — for context, that's enough to power roughly 300,000 homes.
We've been tracking the Vineland Nebius/DataOne project on poweredbywho.com alongside the PAC money flowing to NJ politicians from data center interests. Just added the March 21 rally to the project timeline. Hope the turnout is huge.