Data center backup power contributes to health risks: report — SkimNews
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- Environmental Protection Network projects data center air pollution could add nearly $21 billion in healthcare costs by 2028, plus roughly 600,000 asthma cases and 1,300 premature deaths
- EPA's temporary turbine rule allows small and medium turbines on-site for up to two years with reduced monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting — producing 89% more nitrogen oxide released annually than the 2024 version the Trump administration scrapped
- Virginia case modeling: on-site generators emitting just 10% of permitted levels could cause 14,000 asthma symptom cases, 13 to 19 premature deaths, and $220 million to $300 million in annual public health costs
- xAI's Southaven, Mississippi data center is the subject of a high-profile lawsuit over whether the company obtained proper permits for temporary mobile turbines used as backup power
- Department of Energy emergency order in May authorized PJM Interconnection to tap backup generators at data centers during a Northeast and Midwest heat wave that overlapped with planned maintenance outages
- The report lists 30 federal regulatory actions that risk increasing data center pollution — from easing utility rules to exempting private power facilities from acid rain program permits and emissions reporting
Why it matters: The Trump administration's rollback of data center emissions safeguards is now tied to projected public health harms with concrete local costs: Virginia alone faces $220-300 million annually and 13-19 premature deaths even at just 10% generator utilization. The xAI Mississippi lawsuit will test whether courts treat "backup," "temporary," and "mobile" generator labels as enforceable categories or as loopholes for expanded power production.
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