More than 100 residents packed into a local park in a South Jersey neighborhood Saturday to rally against a huge artificial intelligence data center rising nearby.

Vineland, a Cumberland County city known for its agriculture, has become the latest battleground in the growing fight against data centers across New Jersey.

One of the state’s largest AI construction projects — covering 2.6 million square feet — is taking shape behind a concrete perimeter wall on a former sand mining site. A constant humming noise from the site has already generated complaints from residents.

“This is one of the largest data centers on the entire East Coast of this country and it will change Vineland forever. It will reshape our energy use, our water supply and our environment,” said Bayly Winder, a congressional candidate who helped organize the protest.

The facility is being built by DataOne and is operated by Nebius Group, a Netherlands-based company that has a $17 billion deal to supply artificial intelligence computing power to Microsoft through the site.

When construction is complete, the facility will be more than twice the size of the nearby Cumberland Mall and use about 300 megawatts of power, enough to supply a small city.

At least three data rooms are already up and running at the facility located off South Lincoln Avenue, Nebius officials told NJ.com.

According to Winder, community members are demanding more transparency from city officials and developers about the data center. The site was first approved by the Vineland Planning Board in June 2024 and quickly moved into construction with little community input, critics say.

Saturday’s rally came days before phase two of the project is set to go before the planning board on Thursday. The second phase of the project would expand the site with more data center space, a power generation facility and water infrastructure.

Data centers — large buildings filled with servers and cooling systems — are expanding rapidly across the country as tech companies invest heavily in artificial intelligence. While supporters point to jobs and tax revenue, critics have raised concerns about the massive energy use and water demand for AI data centers.

Some AI facilities have also been criticized for producing a constant hum from cooling systems and backup generators.

In Vineland, some residents say that noise is already a problem, even though only a fraction of the facility is built and operational. For months, people living near the site have reported a low, humming sound spreading across nearby neighborhoods and farmland. Some say it is keeping them up at night.

DataOne officials said the noise is temporary and tied to ongoing construction, adding that the site is complying with local regulations.

At a January town hall, DataOne CEO Charles-Antoine Beyney also defended the project’s environmental impacts, saying the company will cover most of its energy costs and that emissions would be “lower than a medium-size farm.”

New Jersey has about 80 data centers, most clustered north of Trenton, according to DataCenterMap, an industry tracking database.

The AI data center industry is expected to triple nationwide by 2030. As that expansion reaches more New Jersey communities, some residents are trying to fight back.

Last month in New Brunswick, city officials backed off a proposal for a data center after residents packed a meeting and raised concerns about environmental impacts and the loss of green space. The site will now remain a park.

In Gloucester County, officials in Monroe Township are moving to block data centers entirely. After residents raised concerns, Monroe Mayor Gregory A. Wolfe said the township plans to remove data centers as a permitted use under current zoning. The proposal is expected to go before the council on Wednesday.

And in North Jersey, a redevelopment plan in Montvale in Bergen County is facing a legal challenge after it created a path for a data center to be built on a site instead of affordable housing.

Back in Vineland, however, residents say the situation feels more urgent because construction on the Nebius data center is nearly half complete.

Zac Landicini, a lifelong Vineland resident, started the grassroots group Sustain SJ about six months ago to push for more transparency around the project. Since then, the group has grown, drawing thousands of supporters and gaining traction on social media.

More than 850 acres of preserved farmland stretch across Vineland, and agriculture remains a key part of the local economy and identity.

Annalisa Franceschini, a 21-year-old third-generation Italian immigrant, held a sign calling for government transparency during Saturday’s rally. She lives not far from the site and said she is worried about the impact on her family’s farms.

“My family is very heavily into farming,” she said. “This would impact my family’s heritage land greatly — something they worked really hard to make productive.”