By James Jarvis Mar 2, 2023 1
Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council, speaks to the media during a press event in Woodbridge on Feb. 27 before a public hearing on a proposal to temporarily suspend emission limits for data centers.
James Jarvis | InsideNoVa
Gainesville resident Kara Klaas said her home is located in what was formerly known as Prince William County’s “rural crescent.”
But her neighborhood now sits on the edge of the PW Digital Gateway – soon to be home to 27.6 million square feet of data centers across 2,139 acres along Pageland Lane – which Klaas fears may jeopardize her family’s health if the facilities are allowed to continuously run diesel generators for several hours a day.
“The health, safety and well-being of our children, of our vulnerable populations and us adults who just want a nice place to live are at risk, and for what – for corporate greed,” Klaas said during a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality public hearing regarding a proposed variance that would suspend air emissions rules to allow between 100-150 data centers in Prince William, Loudoun and Fairfax Counties to run approximately 4,000 diesel generators to power its facilities in the event of a power grid failure.
On Monday, dozens of residents and nonprofit environmental representatives from across the region descended upon the agency’s northern regional office in Woodbridge to oppose the temporary variance, which would last from mid-March to July 31. Many also demanded answers from agency officials regarding what impact the generators would have on air quality, if officials considered alternative power sources and whether the variance is only temporary or will repeat.
Challenge meeting power demand
Last July, Dominion Energy alerted several stakeholders, including data centers, the Department of Environmental Quality and the regional grid operator PJM it would have trouble meeting the demands for power in eastern Loudoun County – home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, totaling 25 million square feet – due to strains on the utility’s transmission infrastructure.
Aaron Ruby, media relations manager for Dominion Energy, said the growth of the data center industry, which accounts for approximately 20% of the company’s electricity sales, “accelerated exponentially in 2020-21,” resulting in “transmission constraints in a small pocket of eastern Loudoun,” specifically Ashburn.
Ruby clarified that those constraints do not impact residential or small business customers outside of the area known as “data center alley.”
But he noted to alleviate the constraints, the company has been “accelerating the development of several near- and long-term transmission projects in eastern Loudoun.”
“That includes adding additional capacity to existing transmission lines and expanding existing substations, as well as building two new 500 kV transmission lines and substations,” Ruby said.
The first of those projects, Ruby said, will be completed in July when the variance is scheduled to expire.
Although the issue was specific to Loudoun, the Department of Environmental Quality extended eligibility to data centers in Fairfax and Prince William Counties in anticipation of power grid disruptions potentially affecting other parts of the region.
During the hearing, Josh Levi, president of the Data Center Coalition, a Northern Virginia-based trade association, applauded the variance, arguing it would allow data centers to “continue serving its customer” while maintaining “the integrity of the internet.”
Karen Sabasteanski, a policy analyst for the agency who conducted the hearing, said power grid disruptions are rare and, when they do happen, are “very short-lived” – lasting only a few hours.
Karen Sabasteanski, a policy analyst at Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Office of Air Data Analysis and Planning, conducts a public hearing in Woodbridge on a proposal for a temporary variance regarding data center emission limits on Feb. 27.
James Jarvis | InsideNoVa
“My understanding is that it’s about 17 hours a year,” she said in a phone interview following the hearing. “I understand that last year, [grid operators] called more emergencies than previous years, but in the air quality world, that’s a very small number.”
Air pollution
In addition to harmful air pollutants such as nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur and particulate matter, several opponents noted the generators would also contribute to noise – a concern expressed by many Prince William and Fauquier residents over the last year during public hearings for the Digital Gateway project and Amazon data center proposal in Warrenton.
“I’ll tell you, I worked in a couple of data centers – when they fire up those generators, you’re going to be getting noise complaints, even from industrial parks, anybody who lives near them,” Kevin O’Neil, director of the Fauquier Climate Change Group, said during the hearing.
About an hour before the hearing, Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council, told reporters outside the agency’s office the variance is “troubling” because the agency has not provided the public with alternative energy sources, such as solar-powered backup generators or battery storage, data centers could use to power its facilities during a grid disruption.
“In one fell swoop with this variant, [the agency] is undoing 30 years of work,” Miller said. “Where are the alternatives? This is a serious question because we have spent billions and decades trying to get beyond the direct public health threat of [air pollutants] to people who live nearby the generation.”
Sabasteanski said that if the variance is issued and data centers choose to utilize it, the generator’s impact on the region’s air quality would be minimal compared to the air pollution caused by traffic.
“Very roughly, about 70% of the ozone problem in Northern Virginia was from traffic,” she said.
But Kyle Hart, a National Parks Conservation Association representative, said during the hearing that the variance would not only violate the department’s mission to provide cleaner air for the region but also create a precedent that says data centers are allowed to keep polluting at the expense of nearby residents.
“The [Department of Environmental Quality] must announce whether or not this is a one-time variance or whether this will become the norm,” Hart said. “And I think last, but not least, [the agency] must establish a roadmap for this industry in Virginia moving forward regarding energy use, climate goals and more.”
Sabasteanski said the agency, which began its public comment period on the proposed variance Jan. 27, will continue to accept public comments through March 14, after which it will issue a decision.
Sabasteanski said it would take a “while” before a decision is reached.