Omaira Garcia, an Air Force veteran, was unaware that her life on her small ranch in Abilene, Texas, was about to change forever until clouds of dust from a mysterious project next door began to engulf her home. The project, OpenAI’s Stargate data center, was being built directly beside her property, and the natural-gas-powered electrical plant sits roughly 500 yards from her house.

Regulatory Loophole

The data center’s developers, Crusoe, obtained minor air permits, which are typically used for low-level polluters like dry cleaners and autobody shops, to build the power plant. These permits do not require environmental studies, public notice, or public comment periods. As a result, communities like Garcia’s are left stunned when exhaust stacks pop up in their backyards.

According to a Floodlight investigation, at least 38 data centers across Texas have received minor permits to operate on-site power sources, resulting in the use of over 2,100 backup diesel generators across the state. These generators are permitted to emit nearly 2,500 tons of nitrogen oxides into Texas communities every year, more than triple the state’s newest coal-fired power plant.

Environmental Impact

The trend of building data centers with on-site power plants in Texas has raised concerns about the environmental impact. Researchers say that the state has put more than 80 gigawatts of new gas plants into its construction pipeline, making it second only to China. Roughly half of this capacity is reserved for data centers, which could lead to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.