#particulatematter — Public Fediverse posts

#Colorado ’s biggest #datacenter wants to add another 98 #diesel backup generators

By Sam Brasch
Jul. 8, 2026

"On the eastern edge of #AuroraCO, #QTS , a leading data center developer, is rapidly transforming a 65-acre property south of #DenverInternationalAirport.

"One of three massive data centers is already complete, a second appears nearly finished and heavy machinery is now prepping a footprint for the third. On a recent afternoon, the low rumble of construction nearly drowned out chirps from #PrairieDogs burrowed into the surrounding #grasslands.

"Once completed, the campus will require at least #160MW, about four times the peak capacity of the international airport nearby. QTS also promises around-the-clock service for future customers. To keep the facility humming through blackouts, it plans to add 98 diesel backup generators to its fleet of 40 hulking engines already installed at the Aurora campus, according to a permit application submitted to state regulators in July 2025.

"It’s a backup system fit for Colorado’s largest data center, the state’s only #hyperscale facility larger than #100MW. Each engine is a small power plant the size of a semitruck, but roughly seven times more powerful. Once installed, the generators will release sporadic bursts of intense #sound and #DieselExhaust, containing #pollutants like #ParticulateMatter and #NitrogenOxides, a key ingredient behind Colorado’s #SummertimeOzone struggles.

"Data center critics worry that similar projects could be close behind. Alana Miller, the Colorado policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council [ #NRDC ], said the prospect is why her organization helped lead a failed push to regulate data centers in the last legislative session. If passed, the bill would have required data centers to supply their own #RenewableEnergy, tightened pollution standards for backup systems and required additional input for projects in historically polluted neighborhoods.

" 'The QTS Aurora expansion is a perfect example of why Colorado needs strong statewide data center guardrails,' Miller said. 'Aurora is already in severe ozone nonattainment, and left unchecked, new diesel generators could make the problem worse.'

" #DieselGenerators are a growing concern in data center hotspots like northern #Virginia.

"A recent analysis by the Washington Post examined air permits for more than 132 data centers packed into the region. It found generators at the facilities represent a significant health risk — even if they’re rarely used. With more than 10,000 generators attached to Virginia data centers, even operating them less than an average of an hour per week would carry roughly the same public health impact as five large gas-fired power plants, according to the report.

"Another study by the University of California Riverside and Caltech estimates data center #AirPollution could result in as many as 1,300 premature deaths every year by 2030. That research, however, is still undergoing peer review."

Read more:
https://www.cpr.org/2026/07/08/qts-aurora-data-center-diesel-generators/

#NoDatacenters #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AIDatacenters #HyperscaleDatacenters #EnergyUsage #EnvironmentalDamage #AirPollution #GasFiredGenerators #DieselFuel

#Colorado ’s biggest #datacenter wants to add another 98 #diesel backup generators

By Sam Brasch
Jul. 8, 2026

"On the eastern edge of #AuroraCO, #QTS , a leading data center developer, is rapidly transforming a 65-acre property south of #DenverInternationalAirport.

"One of three massive data centers is already complete, a second appears nearly finished and heavy machinery is now prepping a footprint for the third. On a recent afternoon, the low rumble of construction nearly drowned out chirps from #PrairieDogs burrowed into the surrounding #grasslands.

"Once completed, the campus will require at least #160MW, about four times the peak capacity of the international airport nearby. QTS also promises around-the-clock service for future customers. To keep the facility humming through blackouts, it plans to add 98 diesel backup generators to its fleet of 40 hulking engines already installed at the Aurora campus, according to a permit application submitted to state regulators in July 2025.

"It’s a backup system fit for Colorado’s largest data center, the state’s only #hyperscale facility larger than #100MW. Each engine is a small power plant the size of a semitruck, but roughly seven times more powerful. Once installed, the generators will release sporadic bursts of intense #sound and #DieselExhaust, containing #pollutants like #ParticulateMatter and #NitrogenOxides, a key ingredient behind Colorado’s #SummertimeOzone struggles.

"Data center critics worry that similar projects could be close behind. Alana Miller, the Colorado policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council [ #NRDC ], said the prospect is why her organization helped lead a failed push to regulate data centers in the last legislative session. If passed, the bill would have required data centers to supply their own #RenewableEnergy, tightened pollution standards for backup systems and required additional input for projects in historically polluted neighborhoods.

" 'The QTS Aurora expansion is a perfect example of why Colorado needs strong statewide data center guardrails,' Miller said. 'Aurora is already in severe ozone nonattainment, and left unchecked, new diesel generators could make the problem worse.'

" #DieselGenerators are a growing concern in data center hotspots like northern #Virginia.

"A recent analysis by the Washington Post examined air permits for more than 132 data centers packed into the region. It found generators at the facilities represent a significant health risk — even if they’re rarely used. With more than 10,000 generators attached to Virginia data centers, even operating them less than an average of an hour per week would carry roughly the same public health impact as five large gas-fired power plants, according to the report.

"Another study by the University of California Riverside and Caltech estimates data center #AirPollution could result in as many as 1,300 premature deaths every year by 2030. That research, however, is still undergoing peer review."

Read more:
https://www.cpr.org/2026/07/08/qts-aurora-data-center-diesel-generators/

#NoDatacenters #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AIDatacenters #HyperscaleDatacenters #EnergyUsage #EnvironmentalDamage #AirPollution #GasFiredGenerators #DieselFuel

#Colorado ’s biggest #datacenter wants to add another 98 #diesel backup generators

By Sam Brasch
Jul. 8, 2026

"On the eastern edge of #AuroraCO, #QTS , a leading data center developer, is rapidly transforming a 65-acre property south of #DenverInternationalAirport.

"One of three massive data centers is already complete, a second appears nearly finished and heavy machinery is now prepping a footprint for the third. On a recent afternoon, the low rumble of construction nearly drowned out chirps from #PrairieDogs burrowed into the surrounding #grasslands.

"Once completed, the campus will require at least #160MW, about four times the peak capacity of the international airport nearby. QTS also promises around-the-clock service for future customers. To keep the facility humming through blackouts, it plans to add 98 diesel backup generators to its fleet of 40 hulking engines already installed at the Aurora campus, according to a permit application submitted to state regulators in July 2025.

"It’s a backup system fit for Colorado’s largest data center, the state’s only #hyperscale facility larger than #100MW. Each engine is a small power plant the size of a semitruck, but roughly seven times more powerful. Once installed, the generators will release sporadic bursts of intense #sound and #DieselExhaust, containing #pollutants like #ParticulateMatter and #NitrogenOxides, a key ingredient behind Colorado’s #SummertimeOzone struggles.

"Data center critics worry that similar projects could be close behind. Alana Miller, the Colorado policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council [ #NRDC ], said the prospect is why her organization helped lead a failed push to regulate data centers in the last legislative session. If passed, the bill would have required data centers to supply their own #RenewableEnergy, tightened pollution standards for backup systems and required additional input for projects in historically polluted neighborhoods.

" 'The QTS Aurora expansion is a perfect example of why Colorado needs strong statewide data center guardrails,' Miller said. 'Aurora is already in severe ozone nonattainment, and left unchecked, new diesel generators could make the problem worse.'

" #DieselGenerators are a growing concern in data center hotspots like northern #Virginia.

"A recent analysis by the Washington Post examined air permits for more than 132 data centers packed into the region. It found generators at the facilities represent a significant health risk — even if they’re rarely used. With more than 10,000 generators attached to Virginia data centers, even operating them less than an average of an hour per week would carry roughly the same public health impact as five large gas-fired power plants, according to the report.

"Another study by the University of California Riverside and Caltech estimates data center #AirPollution could result in as many as 1,300 premature deaths every year by 2030. That research, however, is still undergoing peer review."

Read more:
https://www.cpr.org/2026/07/08/qts-aurora-data-center-diesel-generators/

#NoDatacenters #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AIDatacenters #HyperscaleDatacenters #EnergyUsage #EnvironmentalDamage #AirPollution #GasFiredGenerators #DieselFuel