Port Washington Residents Urge DNR, Deny Air Quality Permits for Data Center
Vantage centers could generate up to 48,500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
This is an aerial rendering of what the planned data center campus in Port Washington could look like. Source: City of Port Washington
Port Washington residents and environmental advocates urged Wisconsin regulators to deny air quality permits for a massive data center in the community, calling for further environmental review of the project.
Construction of the $15 billion Vantage Data Centers campus is ongoing as part of plans by OpenAI and Oracle to expand the nation’s artificial intelligence capacity.
The Denver-based developer is applying for air pollution control permits to use 45 diesel-fired generators to power its data center campus in the event of a power outage. During normal operations, the facility would rely on power from the state’s largest utility, We Energies, which is proposing to add almost 3 gigawatts of power to meet energy demand from data centers.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources found Vantage will meet air pollution limits and not violate ambient air quality standards, granting preliminary approval. But Port Washington residents urged the agency to deny the draft permits during a virtual public hearing Tuesday.
“The DNR owes it to the people, the wildlife and the environment of Ozaukee County to further study the serious impacts of this proposal,” said Dean Wiegert, one of the residents who spoke out.
“It seems to me, there’s been almost no consideration of the impacts of this giant data center. Impacts like noise vibrations, light pollution, traffic, road closures, wildlife displacement and now air pollution,” Wiegert said.
Michael Greif, a legal fellow with Midwest Environmental Advocates, or MEA, noted the diesel engines would release harmful air pollutants, including fine particle pollution and nitrogen oxides. Speaking on behalf of Sierra Club Wisconsin, he argued the scale of the project legally requires an environmental impact statement.
“It raises new and unreserved questions about energy use, climate impacts, air pollution and public health,” Greif said.
The DNR estimated the diesel engines could generate a maximum of around 48,500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. That’s equivalent to around 11,000 gas-powered vehicles driven for a year. But potential emissions are anticipated to be far less and a fraction of emissions from new gas plants being built to power data centers.
Even so, Jeff Lueck said he lives within 2 miles of the data center campus and has asthma, urging the use of batteries for backup power instead of diesel generators.
“Diesel exhaust is a type one carcinogen linked to cancer, heart problems, lung disease,” Lueck said.
This is an aerial rendering of what the planned data center campus in Port Washington could look like. Source: City of Port Washington
Lueck and others also noted the facility is being built in an area that already exceeds federal ambient air quality standards for ozone pollution. Ozone pollution, also called smog, often occurs in the summer when air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from industry, power plant or vehicle emissions interact with heat and sunlight.
Carri Prom is a former nurse practitioner, mom and co-founder of the nonprofit Great Lakes Neighbors United. Prom said her children play outside every day, and she feared nitrogen oxides released by the generators when they’re used as a backup source would only make ozone pollution worse.
“We should not have to pay with our health for a billion dollar company’s profit,” Prom said. “We should not have to beg a regulatory agency to do its job, and our children should not inherit an earth we fail to protect.”
Prom and MEA’s Greif criticized the agency’s decision not to conduct air dispersion modeling of the facility’s effects on ambient air quality standards. The DNR concluded that emissions from the diesel engines were either intermittent or not steady sources of pollutants like nitrogen oxides.
A Clean Wisconsin analysis released Tuesday estimated pollution from the diesel generators could cause $960,000 to $1.29 million in annual public health costs mostly tied to increased ozone pollution.
Vantage is proposing to limit fuel use to roughly 324,000 gallons annually. The restriction aims to ensure ozone-forming pollutants fall below thresholds for new major sources of pollution that would require additional permits and pollution controls. To show it’s meeting those limits, the developer must keep records of fuel use and conduct testing once every five years.
Representatives of Vantage Data Centers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The project, which will include four data center buildings, has drawn pushback from residents over noise and light pollution in addition to concerns over water and energy use. The roughly 670-acre campus could need up to 3.5 gigawatts of electricity.
A majority of voters in Port Washington recently approved a referendum that would require voter approval for certain large development incentives, following backlash over the city’s approval of a tax incremental district for the project.
Recent polling shows many voters in Wisconsin think the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits. Supporters have touted their potential to create jobs and generate tax revenue. The data center campus in Port Washington could create more than 4,000 construction jobs and more than 1,000 permanent positions.
Construction of the roughly 670-acre campus is slated to wrap up in 2028.
Port Washington residents urge DNR to deny air quality permits for data center was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
