Hilliard residents concerned by data center backup generator emissions – officials are pushing back on a proposal to install fuel cell technology
HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) — Hilliard residents are concerned by a second proposal to provide power to an Amazon data center near Beacon Elementary.
Amazon’s Scioto Darby Road data center was approved in 2022 but has faced local scrutiny in the last five months over how the facility will be powered. Hilliard officials are pushing back on a proposal to install fuel cell technology that is moving forward without city approval. Now, residents are hoping to chime in on proposed backup generators for the same data center that raise additional community concerns.
Hilliard resident Annette Singh said she helped mail over 160 signed petition letters to the Ohio EPA asking for a public hearing on the backup generator proposal. This week, the Ohio EPA confirmed it does plan to hold a public hearing, although a date has not been set.
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The generators, slated for emergency use, would run on diesel fuel. If approved, Amazon would install 158 Tier 2 diesel generators, which emit large amounts of aerial pollution when turned on. According to the permit application, the generators would release carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, both of which can cause health issues if inhaled in excess.
Singh hopes the permit will be rejected and Amazon will be required to install Tier 4 diesel generators instead. Diesel generators are regulated from Tiers 1-4, with 4 offering the strongest protections for neighboring residents from pollutants. Newly manufactured generators must meet Tier 4 regulations, but the law allows backup generators to follow looser guidelines because they are used less frequently.
The diesel generators are different than Amazon’s proposed fuel cell systems, which would provide primary power to the data center. Fuel cell power has already received state approval, although the city is asking the state to revoke the project’s authorization. The fuel cells would emit over one million pounds of carbon dioxide daily.
Singh said,
Why are these being allowed at a residential area?
My kids play 1,000 feet from this facility, and I live 2,300 feet away, and my child goes to elementary school around 4,000 feet away,
“So all of this is happening so close to me, and it’s getting incrementally worse.”
Singh said she is also against the fuel cells, but the proposal for the diesel generators has not yet been approved by the state, so she is more hopeful residents could stop it. As written, Singh and other residents feel the diesel generator permit is flawed and confusing. She hopes the public hearing will offer residents a chance to get answers to perceived holes in the permit.
The diesel generators are slated as backup units for emergency use, so they would not be used on a daily basis. The permit places limits on how frequently the generators could be used and how much pollutants are emitted over a 12-month period.
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Most data centers have backup generators to ensure data centers don’t go without power. When severe winter weather struck Ohio last week, Ohio’s data centers received permission from the U.S. Department of Energy to turn on their emergency generators to help alleviate pressure on the electric grid.
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Hilliard residents concerned by data center backup generator emissions – officials are pushing back on a proposal to install fuel cell technology, source
