New Jersey Lifts Nuclear Power Ban As Data Centers Scramble For Energy

The data center boom has led to an energy supply crunch and concerns of elevated consumer electricity rates across the country. In New Jersey, lawmakers are turning to nuclear power in an effort to lower costs for their constituents.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill last week signed a bill lifting the state’s de facto 40-year ban on building new nuclear power generation facilities.

“For costs to come down, we need more energy supply,” she said in a press release. “New Jersey is well-positioned to be a leader in next-generation nuclear energy to help bring that supply, and we are open for business.”

Sherrill was putting into effect a bill passed by the New Jersey Legislature last month that updated the state’s Coastal Area Facility and Review Act. The law had previously barred new nuclear plants from being built in the state until the federal government identified a permanent nuclear waste storage site. 

The state has two existing nuclear power plants, both in South Jersey. 

The Salem Nuclear Power Plant in Lower Alloways Township — where Sherrill signed the bill — and the Hope Creek Generating Station in nearby Hancocks Bridge produce roughly 40% of New Jersey’s electricity and 80% of the state’s pollution-free power, according to the governor's release.

Another South Jersey nuclear plant, Exelon's Oyster Creek facility, shut down in 2018, WHYY reported. 

Data center developers and Big Tech companies have been pushing for more nuclear power generation to fuel their skyrocketing demand. 

Microsoft said in September 2024 it would reactivate the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to power its artificial intelligence program. 

That same month, 14 major financial institutions — including Ares Management, Bank of America, Brookfield, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — signed onto a statement calling for the world to triple its nuclear energy capacity by 2050. 

Meta followed suit in June 2025, when it inked a 20-year deal to buy all 1.1 gigawatts of electricity produced by Constellation's nuclear plant in Clinton, Illinois.

Amazon is backing X-energy, a developer of small modular nuclear reactors, which submitted its filing for an initial public offering last month. It is one of several firms producing these more compact generators, which data center operators are eyeing as a potential solution to their energy woes.