EPA declared Monday that power generators that don’t sell power to the grid aren’t beholden to Clean Air Act acid rain standards.
EPA’s new guidance states that “under the best reading” of the Clean Air Act, “islanded” power plants like those used exclusively to power data centers aren’t subject to EPA’s cap-and-trade program for sulfur dioxide or its curbs on nitrogen oxides.
EPA cast the guidance as an effort to insulate ratepayers from the costs associated with increased power demand from data center build-out.
“Ensuring that the United States maintains our artificial intelligence dominance is essential to national security and economic prosperity,” said Aaron Szabo, EPA’s assistant administrator for air and radiation. “At the same time, it is equally important that we safeguard our communities from utility price hikes.”
