Friday, January 16, 2026

DEP Issues Air Quality Permit For 176 - 3.25 MW Backup Diesel Generators For A.I. Data Center Project In City Of Lancaster

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the January 17 PA Bulletin announcing it has approved an Air Quality Plan Approval covering the installation of 176 - 3.25 MW backup diesel generators to serve the Greenfield Road Owner, LLC A.I. data center project in the former LSC Communication East facility in the City of Lancaster. (
PA Bulletin, page 420)

DEP accepted comments on the permit application in November. Read more here.

Individuals aggrieved by this decision have 30 days from this notice to appeal this action to the Environmental Hearing Board.

Questions should be directed to Vincent Pascucci, P.E., Permit Section Chief, at 717-705-4862.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s websiteSubmit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

Related Articles This Week:

-- Gov. Shapiro Secures Federal Support To Extend PJM Electric Generation Auction Price Cap; Call For Emergency PJM Auction To ‘Build Big Power Plants Again’  [PaEN] 

-- House Energy Committee To Consider Bill Giving PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Jan. 26;  Hearings On Related Bills Jan. 26 and Feb. 2  [PaEN]  

-- Utility Dive: PJM Updates 20-Year Forecast Of Electricity Demand Growth, Reducing Short Term Growth Estimates By Up To 2.6%, Increasing 2035 Estimate By 3.3%  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part III: Planning Prepares For Burgeoning A.I. Data Center Electricity Demand  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Cold Weather Alerts For Jan. 19 - Western Region; Jan. 20 Entire Regional Electric Grid [PaEN] 

-- PennTAP Now Accepting Applications For RISE PA Decarbonization Grants For Small, Mid-Sized Manufacturers  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Jan. 29 Hearing On Water Withdrawal Requests, Including Amazon Data Center; And Statement Of Investment Policy  [PaEN] 

-- Sustainable Pittsburgh Hosts Feb. 3 Webinar On A.I. Data Centers - Energy, Infrastructure, Policy Implications  [PaEN] 

-- ReImagine Appalachia Hosts Feb. 5 Webinar On Catching Heat: Opportunities, Challenges Of Using Waste Heat From A.I. Data Centers  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold Feb. 17 Meeting/Hearing On Revised Water Quality Permit For 1,300 Acre Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Project In Hazle Twp., Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Federal Coastal Zone Consistency Determination For The Canada-US Lake Erie Electric Transmission Line Project, Landfall Erie County, PA  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Issues Air Quality Permit For 176 - 3.25 MW Backup Diesel Generators For A.I. Data Center Project In City Of Lancaster 

-- Cameron County Chamber Of Commerce To Install Solar Energy Installation At The Artisan & Economic Innovation CenterTo Offset 100% Of Energy Consumption [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Solar Center: Jan. 23 Webinar On State Solar For Schools Grants & Free GET Solar Schools Technical Assistance  [PaEN]

-- Green Building Alliance Hosts Jan. 29 Webinar On Opportunities For Training, Certification For Jobs Related To High-Performance Buildings, Sustainability  [PaEN] 

-- PA Leads The Nation In Constructing Federally Funded Electric Vehicle Charging Stations With 28 Now Open; Deadline For New Applications Jan. 30  [PaEN] 

-- Center For Rural Pennsylvania: Number Of Electric Vehicles, EV Charging Stations Per County ]

-- Penn State, USC Partner On Center For CO2 Storage To Develop Practical Strategies For Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage  [PaEN]  

NewsClips:

-- AP: How The White House And Governors Want To Fix A.I.- Drive Power Shortages, Price Spikes

-- Reuters: White House Seeks Emergency Power Auction For Largest US Electric Grid [PJM]

-- Bloomberg: President Says He’ll Make Tech Firms Pay For Power; Calls For Emergency Electricity Auction In PJM

-- City & State PA Guest Essay: Your Energy Bill Keeps Rising, Here’s What We Can Do About It - By Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), Majority Chair, House Energy Committee  

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA Ratepayers Shouldn’t Be Subsidizing Power Lines For Maryland, DC - By Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill

-- Marcellus Drilling News: US EIA Predicts Price Of Natural Gas To Dip 2% In 2026, Increase 33% In 2027 Driven By LNG Gas Exports [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Expand Energy CEO: Natural Gas Drillers Won’t Add New Production At $3.50 Gas Price-- $4.00 to $4.50 Is Needed To ‘Activate Supply Growth’  [PDF of Article]

-- Spotlight PA: Many PA Residents Don’t Want A.I. Data Centers In Their Communities; PA State Leaders Are Welcoming Them

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Dallas Twp. , Luzerne County Residents Fill Public Hearing Space In Support Of A.I. Data Center Zoning Ordinance Limiting Centers To Industrial Zones

-- Scranton Times: Dozens Of Residents Pack Ransom Twp. Meeting To Oppose A.I. Data Center In Lackawanna County [PDF of Article]

-- WITF: Republican Candidate For Governor Stacy Garrity Says ‘A Lot Of Areas’ In Rural PA Could House Data Centers For A.I. Growth 

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: A.I. Data Centers Call For Hawks, Not Canaries [PDF of Article

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: DEP Hearing Exposes Gravity Of The ‘Comically Speculative Nature’ Of A.I. Data Center Development  [PDF of Article

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Will Homer City, An Old Pennsylvania Coal Town, Get A Reboot From 3,200 Acre A.I. Data Center Campus? 

-- TribLive: TECfusions Announces First Tenant In Upper Burrell Twp. A.I. Data Center In Allegheny County; 10 MW Needed, Scaling Up To 1 GW 

-- AP: Microsoft Pushes Big Tech To ‘Pay Our Way’ For A.I. Data Centers Amid Rising Opposition  [PA Highlighted] 

-- Talen Energy Buys 3 Natural Gas Power Plants In Ohio, Indiana To Service Growing Data Center Demand

-- Wall Street Journal: America’s Biggest Power Grid Operator [PJM] Has An A.I. Program - Too Many Data Centers Threaten To Max Out Generation Capacity, Rate Increases Anger Consumers  [PDF of Article

-- YaleEnvironment360: US LNG Gas Exports Are Pushing Energy Bills Higher, Report Finds

-- Public News Service: Clean Energy Boom Adding Much-Needed Electric Generating Capacity To Grid In PA Threatened As Federal Funding Stalls  

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: EOS Energy Storage Company Calls A.I. Data Centers An ‘Accelerant’ For Company’s Batteries

-- Utility Dive: US Senate Bill Would Exempt Fully Isolated A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads From FERC, DOE Regulation

-- AP: US Carbon Pollution Rose In 2025, Experts Blame Cold Weather, High Natural Gas Prices, Data Centers

-- TribLive: Dina Powell McCormick, Wife Of PA US Sen. Dave McCormick, Named Meta [Facebook] President

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. McCormick Says He Will Recuse Himself From Issues Specific To Facebook/Meta With His Wife’s New Role As Meta President

[Posted: January 16, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

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