Experts warn that this state could be home to nearly 1,300 data centers in the years to come, and many will be backed up by diesel-burning generators. At Virginia Commonwealth University, Professor Damian Pitt has looked at the potential impact on air quality, and he’s concerned.
"The three primary pollutants that we looked at are carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and particulate matter, and the levels of emissions that some communities in Northern Virginia are already experiencing is comparable to if not more than what would be associated with living next to a natural gas power plant."
Generators are supposed to be used to provide power in an emergency, but at the Sierra Club’s Virginia Chapter Ann Bennett says some are getting more lenient permits.
“When they’re using them for emergency purposes, they are limited to the number of hours they can use them per year," she explains. "What we are now beginning to see is almost 20% of the generators currently approved are for non-emergency use.”
And during our latest winter storm the U.S. Department of Energy told grid operators in Virginia, Texas and the Carolinas to tap into that backup power.
Bennett says there are already 10,000 generators in use here.
"It's not clear to me that there is any place in the world that is anticipating the number of diesel generators that Virginia is. The concentration here could be unique to the world.”
She wants Virginia to monitor air quality around data centers, to warn the public when generators are employed and to rely more on clean solar power. Damian Pitt says centers should be using the latest technologies to minimize pollution.
"First of all moving from the tier Ii generators to the tier IV generators, which are more efficient, and then beyond that looking at solutions related to battery storage.”
The General Assembly is considering House Bill 507 which would require that neighbors be notified when generators are in use.
