Building More Data Centers Requires More Pollution Controls
by Ivy Main
In 2019, with Northern Virginia’s data center boom well underway,I worked with the Sierra Club to provide comments to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on a proposed major source air permit for a data center.
We urged that the data center, owned by Digital Realty, be required to minimize its reliance on highly-polluting, back-up diesel generators by installing on-site solar and battery storage.
While rooftop solar alone wouldn’t produce more than a fraction of the energy a data center uses, solar panels and batteries could provide a strong first line of defense against grid outages, without the air pollution.
It wasn’t a new idea; other data centers elsewhere were using clean energy and storage or installing microgrids capable of providing all of the power the facility needed. Yet DEQ rejected the suggestion and gave the go-ahead for the data center to install 139 diesel generators with no pollution controls.
Three years later, data centers have proliferated to such a degree that the power grid can’t keep up. DEQ is now proposing that more than 100 data centers in Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax counties be given a variance from air pollution controls so they can run their diesel generators any time the transmission system is strained. DEQ is taking commentson the proposal through March 14 and will hold a hearing at its office in Woodbridge on February 27.
As a resident of Fairfax County, I’ll be one of the people forced to breathe diesel pollution to keep data centers running. Make no mistake: There would be no grid emergency without these data centers’ thousands of megawatts worth of electricity demand. And there wouldn’t be a threat to Northern Virginia’s air quality without their diesel generators.
It’s fair to ask: Should these data centers have been built if the infrastructure to deliver power to them wasn’t ready? I’d also like to know why DEQ thinks it’s okay to impose on residents the combined pollution from many thousands of diesel generators firing at once, when it has known since at least 2019 that viable, clean alternatives exist.
Please Comment on the Proposed DEQ Air Quality Variance for Data Centers in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties!
Last summer, Dominion Energy announced that it might have trouble meeting demand for electricity to power data centers located in Loudoun County. Data Centers suck up 21% of Dominion's energy capacity in Virginia and the power requirements to keep the thousands of cooling systems in data centers working in the hot summer months is enormous. If approved, DEQ's order would provide an exemption from clean air regulations meant to protect public health. Lifting air pollution limits on over 4,600 generators in 101 data centers that would burn diesel concurrently has the potential to release high amounts of noxious NO2, CO, VOC, SO2, and PM10/2.5 with known health impacts throughout Northern Virginia neighborhoods, schools, parks, etc. Diesel generators are in place for backup/emergency purposes, but they are not meant to provide months of power 24/7, should energy supplies run low. (Sierra Club has advocated at DEQ and in local land use applications for backup generators to be powered with clean solar energy.) The fact that the state may need a months-long pause on air quality protections raises all sorts of important climate, health, energy planning and regulatory questions.
MORE FROM DEQ: The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is concerned that there may not be enough grid capacity to provide electricity to power data centers between March and July 2023. Further, a transmission constraint issue exists in the area which may affect the ability to provide enough electricity to data centers through 2025. This proposed order and local variance would provide data centers located in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties relief from existing regulations and permit provisions that limit the use of Tier II and Tier IV emergency generators to periods of a PJM declared emergency. In other words, if adopted, data centers would be able to use their backup diesel generators to power the buildings during this timeframe. Proposed variance for data centers located in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties
Please contact at Sierra Club: Ann Bennett at jazmom4@gmail.com for more information.
Chap Peterson Speaks Out About Data Centers
With strong concerns about local land use decisions negatively impacting national and state public lands, members of the General Assembly (GA) introduced bills aimed to offer protections. After the approval of the Prince William Digital Gateway for development of 2,100 acres adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park, bills to protect water resources, establish reasonable boundaries around parks and to study the myriad impacts the data center industry is having throughout the state were introduced in the GA. At the very least, we should know how this industry is impacting ratepayers, taxpayers and demand for energy. We know that the state tax breaks total more than $1 billion over the last 10 years and are rising.
We are grateful to Senator Chap Petersen and Delegate Danica Roem for leading the charge by introducing SB1078, SJ240 and HJ522. While they did not pass this session, we will continue to work with state legislators on these pressing issues.
Chap Peterson's remarks:
Environmental issues are always on my front burner and there is no more important issue than controlling the explosive growth of "data centers" in the rural crescent of northern Virginia. These behemoths soak up massive amounts of energy and water, while creating few new jobs. Meanwhile, they benefit from a state sales and use tax exemption, which I spoke against renewing this week (video of Chap's remarks on the Senate floor Friday Feb. 17).
I failed to stop that tax exemption on the Senate floor. Even worse, my resolution (SJ 240) to study the data center industry and plan for its environmental impacts -- which had passed the Senate unanimously -- failed on a party-line vote in the House Rules committee. This fight is just beginning.
Video caption: Senator Chap Petersen talks with advocates at the General Assembly on February 3.
Digital Gateway Rezoning Requirements Resubmitted
The Great Falls Group has worked to keep data centers in industrial zones and away from Manassas National Battlefield Park and Conway Robinson State Forest. Contact your supervisor to oppose the Digital Gateway!
Rezoning applications within the area of PW Digital Gateway Comprehensive Plan Amendment have been submitted. The three rezoning applications are (with a link to each case in ePortal):
LoudounNow Data Center Letter: Natalie Pien, Leesburg
Reprinted from LoudounNow, Feb. 24, 2023
Editor: To say that Virginia Data Centers are a topic of concern is an understatement. Data center impacts range from local air, water, soil, and noise pollution; to exorbitant price of land excluding other businesses; to jeopardizing achieving Virginia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction mandates. Yet, there is no legislative branch responsible to ensure that impacts are mitigated.
At the federal level, one Virginia member of Congress, MOC, views data center regulation as a state issue, not a federal issue. When one data center proposal impacted a National Park, our MOC supported opposition. But doesn’t the globally highest concentration of data centers in Data Center Alley constitute a security threat as a highly valuable terrorist target?
Bills introduced to the Virginia General Assembly, HJ522/SJ240 (Study; Department of Energy; impacts of data center development; report. Directs the Department of Energy to study the impacts of data center development on Virginia's environment, economy, energy resources, and ability to meet carbon-reduction goals) was passed in the Senate but failed in the House. The problem is that the breadth and depth of data center impacts in Virginia are not known, hence the proposed study bill. Localities are operating in the dark, (or choosing to ignore adopted policies), case by case for data centers.
Doesn’t Virginia deserve better? Let your legislator at every level of government hear your concern.
Here are ways you can get involved in helping with local county elections.
Interview and endorse candidates for 2023 local elections. Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William will all hold elections for their local Boards of Supervisors in November 2023. The Great Falls Group will develop a candidate questionnaire in each county, send it to all candidates, conduct interviews, and decide on endorsements. Volunteers are needed for various roles in this process, including:
* Develop content for the questionnaires, and review and edit questionnaires.
* Contact candidates and get them to complete the questionnaires.
* Set up interviews with candidates.
* Participate in interviews with candidates. Take notes on candidates' responses.
* Participate in meetings to discuss interviews and decide on endorsements.
When: Saturday, March 25, 1:00 PM
Where: Lost Rhino Brewery, 21730 Red Rum Drive, Suite 142, Ashburn, VA 20147
Why: Meet like minded Loudoun residents. Discuss environmental concerns in Loudoun. Opportunity to sign the Resilience and Sustainability Resolution for All to Thrive in Loudoun County. Find out what you can do. Enjoy complimentary food and soft beverages.
Contact:Natalie Pien
Loudoun Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Started
Loudoun Zoning Ordinance Rewrite has been started. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on a couple of chapters and Natalie Pien submitted comments. More hearings are scheduled before sending it to the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
Planning Commission Public Hearing, January 24, 2023
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
Natalie Pien Comments
Hello. My name is Natalie Pien, a 30+ year resident of the newly formed Little River District. Thank you for the opportunity to comment and I regret not being able to deliver my comments in person or remotely. Today, my comments focus on data centers and the lack of ordinances to implement the two new Sustainability Policies contained in Loudoun’s adopted comprehensive plan Loudoun 2019 Comprehensive Plan.
The purpose of Use Specific Standards in Chapter 4 are to minimize a variety of negative impacts as well as “protect the public health, safety and welfare … standards are consistent with and support the Comprehensive Plan.” 4.06.02 Data Center use specific standards fail to achieve these purposes. Data center use specific standards address only design features such as façade standards, entrance design & landscaping, landscaping/buffering/screening standards. In addition, for TC zoning district, generator testing is limited to weekdays 8 AM – 5 PM. These use standards do not address public health, safety and welfare, nor support the Comprehensive Plan. Data centers have numerous negative impacts including but not limited to the following.
We have new opportunities for volunteers in the Sierra Club Great Falls Group. See nine ideas here to find some that are a fit for you. Local volunteering for the environment helps you and your community by:
Cutting down on emissions by traveling close to home
Giving you a sense of belonging in your own community
Opening you socially to more people in your area
Supporting local projects and people
Teaching you more about your community and other ways to help
The personal connections you can gain from volunteering locally canopen you up to a wide range of advantages. Not only will you make new friends but you’ll also be able to develop relationships in the long-term for as long as you live in the area.
You learn more about what’s going on in your area, like events, groups and clubs, and more.
For the GFG weekly environmental events email, join thelistserv here and select subscribe (or unsubscribe).
The MeetUp group for Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings (SCPRO) is a special activities section of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. The group organizes hikes and other events in Virginia, DC and Maryland. No Sierra Club membership is necessary to participate. SCPRO welcomes all people on a variety of outdoor adventures, nature walks, conservation outings, and exploration of our natural and regional history. JoinSCPRO MeetUp here
Power for the People Virginia
Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia.
