u/ulzimate

Yesterday, at the third planning board meeting open for public comment, the planning board - comprised of appointed members, including the elected mayor - near-unanimously voted to approve QTS Datacenters' new on-site facility and substation, with the mayor abstaining. The planning board had met with the public, QTS representatives, and engineering consultants from Bohler Engineering for over eleven hours across three meetings. The application for the proposed facility included four variances to New Jersey's Municipal Land Use Law, which dealt with matters such as setback from the property line, seeking approval for a security fence expansion, and building and equipment height.

Residents cited issues regarding electric and water usage, potential noise concerns, and environmental impacts to the surrounding wetlands, as the facility is adjacent to a tributary to the nearby Millstone River, which is particularly vulnerable to polluted runoff from the construction process. Other residents claimed East Windsor already had an unreliable power grid, alleging it struggles when dealing with heatwaves. A few residents cited a number of bills currently advancing through the New Jersey Assembly and Senate, including S731, S680, and S3379, which generally deal with energy usage and clean energy generation at data centers to protect NJ residents from rate increases; the planning board was urged to delay the application until after the passage of these bills, which could codify stronger enforcement against regulatory failure or provide more guidance in protecting affordability for residents.

The new facility is being constructed without any PILOT agreement or other tax abatements. Increased water usage was noted for the recently completed expansion on the existing facility, and is expected to increase again for future construction; however, the new datacenter will be fitted with closed-loop cooling, which will reduce the amount of regular water and sewer usage, compared to the current evaporative cooling utilized in the existing facility. The campus also currently houses ten on-site diesel generators, representing a major source of concern regarding noise disturbances and emissions, though it was reported that total generator usage since 2007 did not exceed 400 hours. The current facilities cap out at a 70MW power draw with a building footprint of approximately 560k sqft, with the new facility being planned to be 272k sqft, and the requisite utility substation clocking in at around 27k sqft.

The approval of QTS's application came with a staggering list of 32 conditions provided by the board attorney, which is available through the linked YouTube footage of the council meeting. The conditions have been categorized and summarized below by me.

CORE OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS

The proposed facility must use a closed loop cooling system, and the existing facility's evaporative cooling systems must be upgraded/replaced with closed loop systems within 5 years. Noise must comply with township limits, with generators housed in acoustical enclosures, and emissions must comply with NJ limits. The facility's total energy usage must abide by JCP&L's total allocation.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION / RISK MANAGEMENT

All waste storage and disposal must comply with all NJ requirements, and QTS must provide a best management practices plan regarding refueling and spill containment. Generators and fuel storage must be double walled for leak protection and monitored with alarmed leak sensors. Storm and groundwater must be discharged into the wetlands or tributary according to all NJ requirements.

INFRASTRUCTURE

QTS must pay for all infrastructure required for this project, including roadwork, electrical work, and water and sewer infrastructure, and must ensure that emergency radio frequency reception will not be affected by the proposed facility. The proposed substation must abide by approved plans.

SITE DESIGN

Tractor trailers may only use the main Princeton Hightstown Road entrance. Irrigation and fencing must be consistent with what is already there. Landscaping must abide by township code, and a new planning schedule will specify acceptable indigenous trees and size specifications. Rooftop equipment must be visually and audibly obscured from the public, and lighting must be LED and include lighting shields.

MUNICIPAL CONTRIBUTIONS

QTS must contribute to the township transportation improvement program, affordable housing trust fund, and must fund the construction of a sidewalk on the stretch of One Mile Road adjacent to the property.

POTENTIALLY NON-BINDING

QTS will urge their solar field operator to improve maintenance of their solar field property, and will discuss contributions to local school STEM programs, as well as to the open space program funding.

Approval from the planning board is not a greenlight for construction, as several other bureaucratic or legal steps must be taken before construction is approved.

Photos and text by me.

Links:

QTS East Windsor 1

East Windsor Planning Board 03.09.2026 Variances discussed starting at 36:23

East Windsor Planning Board 05.04.2026 Approval conditions listed 3:04:13

New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law N.J.S.A. 40:55D (Subtitle 3, Chapter 55D)