Georgia leaders call on EPA to curb diesel generator emissions at data centers

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson called on the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately begin regulating the emissions of diesel generators that many data center operators are using for backup power and during peak times of electricity demand, arguing that the pollution poses significant harm to surrounding communities.

In a letter dated Oct. 22, the Georgia Democratic leaders criticized the EPA for failing to oversee the generators, hundreds of which are being used at data center sites in Georgia alone. Even if the generators operate within state emission standards, their collective nitric oxide emissions would more than double that of Georgia Power’s two large coal-fired power plants, they wrote.

“We are deeply concerned that the proliferation of diesel generators at data centers will only worsen air quality and health outcomes across Georgia,” wrote Warnock and Johnson.

Warnock has called for a statewide moratorium on data centers unless big tech companies and developers can promise specific environmental and economic protections for communities. In the letter, he and Johnson said data center development can help communities but that residents’ health and safety must be protected.

The letter gives the EPA a Nov. 19 deadline for a written and oral response on how it will protect communities from diesel generator emissions.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has requested comment from the EPA.

Georgia is now the top state for data center construction, according to the real estate services firm CBRE. The sprawling warehouses filled with computer servers support the sharp demand for artificial intelligence and the digital economy.

Tech companies’ increased reliance on diesel generators to power data centers during a power outage or if the grid is at peak demand is the latest concern from elected officials, communities and others as the pipeline of operators coming to Georgia continues to grow.

In the letter, Warnock and Johnson accused the federal agency of speeding up approval of data center projects and relaxing the limits under which the diesel generators can operate instead of using the Clean Air Act to protect the health and safety of communities. Air pollution stemming from data centers led to roughly $6.7 billion in public health costs in 2023 and is projected to reach $20 billion by 2028, they said. Those are figures from a report released by Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

The Clean Air Act is one of dozens of environmental regulations that President Donald Trump has weakened in efforts to speed data center growth, remove regulatory red tape and undo signature climate laws from the Biden administration. The rollbacks are happening amid stark warnings from the United Nations that the world is set to cross a dangerous planet-warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius unless countries take immediate steps to curb emissions from power plants, the transportation sector and other sources.

Data centers require enormous amounts of electricity to operate, and electric utilities, seizing the opportunity to bring in new, sustained revenue streams, are responding by building out their power grids mostly with gas-fired power plants. Georgia Power is roughly doubling the size of its grid, most of which will serve the influx of data centers.

In Georgia, data center giant QTS plans to install more than 200 diesel generators at its site in Fayetteville and 236 at one in Augusta. In Covington, VoltaGrid and Serverfarm can continue building a data center with gas-powered generators after paying a fine and agreeing to stricter emissions limits.