EPA plans weaker pollution limits for data center turbines

Tech companies using trailer-mounted, gas-powered combustion turbines to power data centers may soon be able to avoid clean air permit requirements.(CN) — One of the world’s top environmental organizations sounded the alarm Tuesday on attempts by the Trump administration to weaken protections against dangerous air pollution from combustion turbines used to power data centers.The Environmental Protection Agency sent a proposal called the Nonroad Combustion Turbines Rule to the White House that is pending final review. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, the rule is expected to exempt these combustion turbines from Clean Air Act standards that apply to industrial sources, and instead regulate them as “mobile sources" akin to vehicles or offroad equipment.The group warns this would allow the turbine’s health-harming pollution to affect nearby communities with no public notice, no public engagement, no review of local air quality impacts, no assessment of cleaner alternatives, and insufficient oversight to ensure these combustion turbines comply with the minimal health protections that would apply.Currently, gas-powered turbines that provide power for data centers must obtain Clean Air Act permits to ensure they limit harmful pollution and comply with protections that apply to other power plants, industrial facilities and similar stationary sources of emissions.However, data centers are increasingly relying on clusters of smaller, trailer-mounted, gas-powered combustion turbines for power that can be delivered much more quickly.The Environmental Defense Fund said together these clusters emit as much pollution as single large power plants.Industry interests, such as the Coalition of Mobile Electric Turbine Users, have asked the EPA to exempt portable combustion turbines used in data center applications from health protections.Such exemptions, if granted by the agency, will create loopholes for new large, polluting power plants to be built without required Clean Air Act protections, the Environmental Defense Fund said.If deemed “nonroad engines,” these combustion turbines would not need to comply with Title V or New Source Review protections and would be exempt from the public notice, pollution control, and compliance assurance requirements that these programs provide.Also, under EPA regulations, “nonroad engines” must not remain at the same location for more than one year. But because no permit is required, EPA and local regulators often have no way to enforce this requirement, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.Even if the units are “temporary,” a loophole would allow substantial pollution into communities for a whole year without critical health protections that would otherwise apply, according to the group.Meanwhile, tech companies like Elon Musk’s xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech have been accused of unlawfully pursuing data center operations without permits for the turbines installed.In April, the NAACP sued the tech companies claiming they’re harming predominately Black communities by illegally operating dozens of unpermitted methane gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, to power its Colossus 2 data center in South Memphis, which powers the company’s chatbot Grok.These turbines emit dangerous pollution including tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and toxic formaldehyde, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. This pollution is tied to cancer, heart and lung diseases, asthma attacks and other serious health problems.Although data centers are among the industry sectors using the most portable combustion turbines, the EPA’s proposal is not expected to be limited to data centers, the Environmental Defense Fund said. It warned the proposal is likely to fast-track many other applications, including facilities in the oil and gas sector.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads