Read the full stored bill text
S680 TR
SENATE, No. 680
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Zwicker, Turner, Mukherji, Moriarty, Diegnan,
Singleton and Greenstein
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires energy usage plan for proposed artificial
intelligence data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities; requires all
electricity for artificial intelligence data centers and cryptocurrency mining
facilities to be derived from new clean energy sources.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy
Committee with technical review.
��
An Act
concerning artificial intelligence data centers
and cryptocurrency mining facilities
and supplementing Title 48 of
the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� The Legislature finds and
declares that data center operation is one of the fastest growing industries
worldwide and in the United States and that as of March 2024, there are 5,381
data centers located in the United States, 73 of which are located in New
Jersey.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that data center load growth has tripled over the past decade and
is projected to double or triple by 2028.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that PJM Interconnection (PJM) is the regional transmission
organization that manages the electric grid across 13 states, including New
Jersey; that PJM�s capacity market ensures long-term grid reliability by securing
the appropriate amount of power supply resources required to meet predicted
energy demand; and that PJM utilizes an annual capacity auction to procure
capacity for a given year.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that at PJM�s capacity auction in July 2024 capacity prices
increased by $12.5 billion compared to capacity prices from the previous year;
and that the 2025 Basic Generation Service auction for residential and small
commercial customers (BGS-RSCP), certified by the Board of Public Utilities,
saw approximately 35 percent higher prices than in 2023.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that in both auctions increased capacity prices were driven by an
expected increase in demand and a stagnant supply of energy in New Jersey and
the rest of the PJM territory.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that many states served by PJM, including New Jersey, urged the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to safeguard ratepayers from
unwarranted prices by modifying PJM�s auction price cap due to growing concerns
about the potential for excessive capacity market price increases in upcoming
capacity auctions, which prompted the FERC to postpone the PJM�s next capacity
auction.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that the expansion of data centers has placed strain on the
electric grid and that projections of increased energy demand from data centers
has put an undue burden on New Jersey ratepayers.
���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that cryptocurrency mining is increasing throughout the country
and that cryptocurrency mining facilities use large amounts of electricity,
which places a strain on the electric grid.
���� The Legislature therefore
determines that it is in the public interest of the residents of New Jersey to
require all electricity supplied to a data center or a cryptocurrency mining
facility within the State to be derived from new verifiable Class I renewable
energy, energy from nuclear power plants, or a combination thereof.
���� 2.� As used in this act:
���� �AI data center� means the
same as defined in section 2 of P.L.2024, c.49 (C.34:1B-395) and that is not
yet operational as of the board�s finding pursuant to subsection b. of section
4 of this act that is published in the New Jersey Register and on the board�s
Internet website.
���� �Application for local
development approval� means the application form and all accompanying documents
required for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, planned development,
conditional use, zoning variance, or direction of the issuance of a permit
pursuant to the �Municipal Land Use Law,� P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.)
or R.S.40:27-1 et seq., for any use, development, or construction.
���� �Artificial intelligence� or
�AI� the same as defined in section 2 of P.L.2024, c.49 (C.34:1B-395).
���� �Board� means the Board of
Public Utilities.
���� �Blockchain technology� or
�blockchain� means shared or distributed data structures or digital ledgers
governed by consensus protocols and maintained by peer-to-peer networks that: �(1)
store digital transactions; and (2) verify and secure transactions
cryptographically.
���� �Class I renewable energy�
means the same as defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
���� �Consensus protocol� means a
set of rules and procedures that control how and when blockchain transactions
are verified, validated, recorded, and recognized.
���� �Cryptocurrency� means any
digital form of currency that utilizes blockchain technology and that functions
as a medium of exchange through a decentralized computer network without
reliance on any central authority such as the government or a financial institution.
���� �Cryptocurrency mining� means
the process whereby computers, also known as nodes or mining rigs, validate
blockchain transactions for a specific cryptocurrency at a cryptocurrency
mining facility.
���� �Cryptocurrency mining
facility� means a facility that is: �(1) utilized in large-scale cryptocurrency
mining or in hosting persons engaged in large-scale cryptocurrency mining
through utilization of the facility's infrastructure, including servers and
network hardware powered by Internet bandwidth, electricity, and other services
generally required for cryptocurrency mining operations; and (2) that is not
yet operational as of the board�s finding pursuant to subsection b. of section
4 of this act that is published in the New Jersey Register and on the board�s Internet
website.
���� �Nuclear power plant� means
the same as defined in section 2 of P.L.2018, c.16 (C.48:3-87.4).
���� �Person� means the same as
defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
���� �PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.�
or �PJM� means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-51).
���� �Transmission and distribution
system� means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-51).
���� 3.� a. �Upon a finding by the
board pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of this act, and published in the
New Jersey Register and on the board�s internet website, all electricity
supplied, as measured on an hourly basis, to an AI data center or a cryptocurrency
mining facility within the State shall be derived from new verifiable Class I
renewable energy, energy from newly constructed nuclear power plants, or a
combination thereof, such that there is no net decrease of verifiable Class I
renewable energy and energy from nuclear power plants supplied, as measured on
an hourly basis, to the transmission and distribution system.
���� b.� Upon a finding by the
board pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of this act, and published in the
New Jersey Register and on the board�s internet website, any person submitting
an application for local development approval for the establishment of an AI
data center or a cryptocurrency mining facility within the State shall
simultaneously prepare and submit an energy usage plan to the board for
approval.� The energy usage plan shall include, at a minimum, procedures that
the AI data center or the cryptocurrency mining facility will utilize to:
���� (1) �derive all electricity
from new verifiable Class I renewable energy, energy from newly constructed
nuclear power plants, or a combination thereof, as required pursuant to
subsection b. of this section;
���� (2) �minimize the amount of
energy that is used to cool computers by optimizing the layout of the room,
ventilation, and cooling systems;
���� (3) �optimize water usage,
including the process the AI data center or the cryptocurrency mining facility
will use to source water in a manner that has the least negative impacts to the
environment and to drinking water;
���� (4) �ensure that ventilation
and weatherproofing of the building is optimized to minimize energy usage; and
���� (5) �utilize the heat
generated by the computers in the AI data center or the cryptocurrency mining
facility for water or space heating in the AI data center or the cryptocurrency
mining facility or adjacent buildings.
���� c.� No later than 90 days
after receipt of an energy usage plan, the board shall make a determination to
approve the plan as submitted, approve the plan with conditions, or disapprove
the plan
and shall provide written notification to the person that submitted an energy
usage plan of the determination.� If the energy usage plan is disapproved, the
board shall inform the person that submitted the energy usage plan of the
reasons for the disapproval.� The person shall have 30 days thereafter to
submit a revised energy usage plan to the board.� After receiving approval from
the board, the individual or business shall proceed with the implementation of
the plan for the proposed AI data center or cryptocurrency mining facility.
���� d.� No AI data center or
cryptocurrency mining facility shall connect to the transmission and
distribution system without receiving approval from the board for an energy
usage plan submitted pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
���� 4.�
a.� The board shall monitor all other states within the PJM region to determine
if any state laws, rules, regulations, or policies of those states require all
electricity supplied to an AI data center or a cryptocurrency mining facility
to be derived from energy sources, such that there is no net decrease in energy
supplied to the transmission and distribution system, and prepare, and update
as necessary, a list of states that have implemented such requirements.
���� b.�
When the board finds that a majority of the states within the PJM region have
implemented the energy supply requirements articulated in subsection a. of this
section, the board shall publish that finding in the New Jersey Register and on
the board�s Internet website no more than 30 days after making the finding.
���� 5.� This act shall take effect
immediately.