Residents protest Kenilworth data center as lawmakers look to eliminate AI tax credits
Three legislators announced plans for a bill to end New Jersey's AI data center tax credit.
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High temperatures did not silence the public's pushback to a large AI data center in Kenilworth. Opponents rallied outside borough hall before Tuesday's planning board meeting.
The project is at the Northeast Science and Technology Center. The company CoreWeave bought a large piece of land there to build a $1.8 billion, 400,000- square-foot AI data center. The planning board approved redevelopment of the site last year.
Some residents have said they were never notified about the project. The meetings have become tense in recent weeks, despite construction underway and the project seemingly a done deal.
Residents and those from neighboring towns have shared noise and environmental concerns. News 12 reached out to CoreWeave for their response.
Also on Tuesday, three Democrat legislators announced plans for a bill to end the AI data center tax credit that former Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, launched in 2024. Assemblyman Andrew Macurdy, Assemblyman Balvir Singh and state Sen. Joe Cryan say the data center in Kenilworth received $250 million from that state program to build there.
Their proposal would use the remaining $250 million currently allocated to that program to lower electric rates and invest in energy storage and solar projects.
