A Connecticut town is pushing back on a proposed data center large enough that it wants to run twelve diesel generators on site, according to NJ.com's reporting on a similar New Jersey fight and the Hartford Courant's coverage of the Connecticut project, where residents are described as "dumbfounded" by the facility's scale.
Neither report gives us the town name, the developer, the megawatt figure, or the square footage in terms we can print under our own numbers rule — so we're not putting a size on this one yet. What we can tell you: twelve diesel generators is itself the story for a contractor, because that's not grid interconnection, that's on-site power generation, and on-site generation means a different trade mix entirely — bigger mechanical and electrical scope, fuel storage and handling systems, emissions permitting, and a fire-protection package sized for combustible fuel on site rather than a utility feed.
Connecticut isn't under New York's Executive Order 62 pause — that order only reaches new data centers of 50 megawatts or more sited in New York State. Connecticut is handling its own data-center question through a different lever, a proposed rule that would require large facilities to bring their own power once they cross 20 megawatts. A project leaning on diesel generators instead of grid power may be exactly the kind of facility that rule is aimed at, though nothing has been formally blocked yet.
For New York-area contractors watching the tri-state buildout: this is a live reminder that a lot of the next wave of data-center work, wherever it lands, is going to come with generator plants and fuel systems attached rather than a simple substation tap — different crews, different permits, different schedule.
Nothing here is approved or under construction. We'll follow the town's hearing record for a vote or a formal filing before calling this anything more than a proposal facing local opposition.