Federal regulatory changes that ease emissions oversight for on-site backup generators are adding to the public-health burden of data centers, according to a report from the Environmental Protection Network. The nonprofit, made up of former environmental officials, estimates that data center air pollution could drive healthcare costs up by nearly $21 billion by 2028, with roughly 600,000 asthma cases and 1,300 premature deaths.
Much of that projected harm comes from policies that keep coal and other combustion plants online to serve data-center demand, the report says. But it points to a distinct set of actions that expand the use of backup generation, including an EPA rule creating a temporary-turbine category with reduced monitoring and reporting. EPN says that rule could allow 89% more nitrogen oxide emissions than a stricter 2024 version that was scrapped.
Other actions include an EPA interpretive letter letting backup generators participate in demand-response programs and a DOE emergency order allowing PJM to use backup generation during grid stress. The report warns that using such equipment during heat waves adds smog-forming pollutants when vulnerable populations are already at risk. It also cites a Mississippi lawsuit over xAI's data center as an example of unclear permitting for temporary turbines.
Using Virginia as a case study, the report says on-site generators emitting at just 10% of permitted levels could contribute to about 14,000 asthma symptom cases and 13 to 19 premature deaths annually, with $220 million to $300 million in yearly health costs. The report lists 30 federal actions in total that it says weaken pollution safeguards for data centers and power plants.