I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed expansion of diesel generator use for planned outage events at data centers.
DEQ’s mission is to “protect and enhance the environment of Virginia in order to promote the health and well-being of the Commonwealth's citizens, residents, and visitors.” Allowing thousands of large diesel generators to run for non-emergency, planned events moves us in the opposite direction. It will worsen air quality, especially on the hottest days of the year, when our air is already at its most unhealthy and when vulnerable residents are at the greatest risk.
This change creates a dangerous and very slippery slope, opening the door for these “emergency” generators to be used for demand response during periods of grid stress, which is not their intended use.
It is important to remember who benefits from this proposed change. Large multinational corporations (Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft, X, and others) stand to gain greater operational flexibility and lower costs. Local residents, meanwhile, bear the risks of dirtier air, more noise, and diminished quality of life. Responsible governance means putting the health of Virginians first, not bending regulations to accommodate the timelines or budgets of the largest companies in the world.
Virginia has already permitted an astounding 9,000 emergency diesel generators at data centers, many of them Tier II units that each produce 2 to 4 MW of power and are more than 50X the size of a typical whole-home generator. In eastern Loudoun alone, an mind-blowing 4,700 generators have been permitted, the equivalent of a dozen large gas plants or a dozen nuclear reactors. These generators are loud, they produce known carcinogens, and they need to be tightly regulated, particularly give the explosive, exponential growth rate of data center development in the state of Virginia.
We are at a moment in history where we are setting new norms and we need to do it responsibility because it is happening at a massive, unprecedented, historic scale that could greatly harm human health (and increase cancer rates in the Virginia population).
This change also puts us on a dangerous path toward allowing diesel generators to run during periods of grid stress, something that was previously proposed and firmly rejected. Once these boundaries are loosened, it becomes far too easy for temporary allowances to become permanent practices.
DEQ must put public health and environmental protection ahead of expedited development and lower costs for data center operators.
I live near a proposed massive, 1000+ acre hyperscale data center that would have an estimated 770 diesel generators operating directly adjacent to my home. I ask that you consider me and other Virginians as you make this decisions, because it affects real lives, real families, and growing, vulnerable children.
To conclude, Virginians deserve health, safety, breathable air, and reasonable noise levels near their homes. I urge DEQ to uphold its duty to protect public health and the environment. This change should not be adopted.