By Joe Demark, President/Business Manager, Sheet Metal Workers Local 25

New Jersey is in the middle of a loud debate about data centers. Some people want to slow them down. Others want to stop them cold with a moratorium. A new report released Monday gives lawmakers and residents a chance to step back and look at the facts. It happens to mirror a lot of what I’ve had to say about the best path forward in a recent Op-Ed that appeared on BINJE.com.

FOCUS NJ, the Center for Economic Research & Workforce Solutions, published “Setting the Record Straight: The Economic & Strategic Case for AI Data Centers in New Jersey” earlier this week. The report takes on the most common complaints about data centers one at a time.

Its conclusion matches what the members of Local 25 have said from the start: New Jersey should build these projects, and it should build them right.

Start with jobs. According to the report, the data center industry contributed $31.09 billion to New Jersey’s economy in 2024. It supported 172,020 jobs across the state when direct, indirect and induced effects are counted. It also generated $3.46 billion in state and local taxes, including spillover from neighboring states. Nationally, every direct data center job supports 4.5 to 6 more jobs in the wider economy.

For our brotherhood and sisterhood, that work is real. A data center is a building that must stay cool around the clock. That means air handling, ductwork and cooling systems. That is sheet metal work, and it takes trained journeypersons and apprentices to do it well. These are careers that support families and communities.

Electric bills are the biggest worry, and it is a fair one.

Families across New Jersey feel the squeeze every month. The report does not wave that concern away. It points to research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that found new demand was not a primary driver of retail price increases from 2019 to 2024. States with large new loads often saw rates fall after inflation, because fixed grid costs were spread across more sales.

The report is also honest about the other side. It notes that data center demand accounted for about half of the recent capacity price increase in the regional PJM market. Plant retirements, market design changes and new reliability targets drove the rest.

That is exactly why “build it right” matters. The tools to protect households already exist. Large users can pay upfront for the substations and transformers they need. Long-term service contracts of 10 to 20 years and exit fees can keep residents from getting stuck with the bill if a facility leaves early. New Jersey should require these protections as a standard part of every major project.

The environment is another concern. The report makes a practical point. The impact of data centers depends on the choices policymakers make about clean power, storage and grid management. New Jersey is already moving. In March, the Board of Public Utilities awarded 355 megawatts of battery storage and opened a solicitation for 645 megawatts more.

Critics also point to Virginia to argue that data center tax breaks are a bad deal. The report shows why that comparison falls short. Virginia’s cost comes from a broad sales tax exemption in the nation’s largest data center market. New Jersey’s former Next New Jersey AI program came with conditions. Projects had to invest at least $100 million, create at least 100 full-time jobs and pay at least 120% of the county median wage. Virginia’s experience also shows the upside. Data centers in northern Virginia paid an estimated $1.3 billion in property taxes to local governments in 2024.

So what does building it right look like?

It means a skilled, trained workforce earning fair wages. It means large energy users pay their own way on grid upgrades. It means developers talk to communities early and take noise and site design seriously. And it means state leaders set clear rules instead of shutting the door.

A moratorium would send these jobs, this investment and this tax revenue to other states. It would not lower a single electric bill. The better path is smart, fair and transparent rules that protect ratepayers and put New Jerseyans to work.

As the report puts it, New Jersey “should lead, not abdicate.”

The members of Local 25 are ready to build.