Johnathan Duff pleads his case against a proposed AI data center in Williamstown, calling such centers “an extreme burden.”
Close to 100 residents gathered at a Monroe Towship council meeting on March 11 to voice their opposition to a possible AI data center on the Black Horse Pike in Williamstown.
Their main concerns are excessive water and energy output for the center that will not only put a strain on costs for residents, but could also adversely impact the environment. Among the five-hour meeting’s speakers was 25-year-old Johnathan Duff, a resident of Shamong concerned about the AI project’s effects on the entire region. A similar proposal is being considered in Vineland.
“It’s a question of what kind of life people want to live in this community,” Duff maintained. “The question is of grave moral, economic, political, social and environmental consequence. Data centers pose an extreme burden on the electrical grid of a community where they are built within years.
“It’s been studied, it’s been proved, it’s imperial,” he added, “up to a 382% increase in electric prices. We cannot afford a 382% increase.”
The project by Hexa Builders stems from a warehouse proposal introduced in June of last year and approved by the planning board on Jan. 8. It has since been reevaluated with a new version – through a resolution approved on March 2 – to take into account AI safeguards. The center would cover 1.6 million square feet.
“There is no hidden agenda,” assured Mayor Greg Wolfe. “Since that Jan. 8 planning board meeting, and since hearing from all the residents that came out in that meeting, other discussions that I’ve had with residents at different events in town, (and) seeing all the social media posts with everyone’s concerns … I have requested our council to approve a resolution, sending that redevelopment plan back to the planning board, to have the planning board professionals then take a deeper dive or look into that data center component of this redevelopment plan and address all the concerns our residents have.”
A township ordinance that’s been introduced would provide 10 pages of protections; its details were explained during the March 11 meeting. Another ordinance introduced by Councilman John Valentine would ban data centers altogether in the community, much to the pleasure of meeting attendees.
Wolf opposes that measure because of its possible legal liability. Valentine supported the AI project when it was introduced last June, but it was implied he changed his mind because of the upcoming election in November.
“Nobody came to oppose it then,” Valentine explained of the June introduction. “But now they’re here to oppose it publicly. Now I’ve changed my vote.”
The ordinance introduced by Valentine, and the township measure to provide protections from AI centers, will be voted on at the next council meeting on Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m.
The site of the proposal is without a tenant, according to council, and there has yet to be approval for any kind of AI data center there. But even the possibility could set a terrible precedent for communities, the residents implied.
“The buck starts here,” claimed Duff. “Because this is the first proposal after Vineland for a data center. It’s on the table. If Hexa Builders is allowed to construct a data center in this area, more will follow very quickly.”
