The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has issued notices of violation to two companies over a new power plant that environmental groups said is being built without permits, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center. The plant is for a planned data center in the Atlanta area.
Microgrid company VoltaGrid and data center company Serverfarm have applied for state permits to build a pop-up power plant and a data center with backup generators in Covington, southeast of Atlanta. The power plant, which would be the first of its kind in Georgia, would consist of 33 internal-combustion engines providing “alternative, rapidly deployable prime power” to the data center, according to Voltagrid’s permit application.
Public comments on the request have raised concerns about air pollution from the diesel- and natural gas-fired units. But several environmental groups now claim construction is already underway without the necessary permits even being issued…