Semitruck-sized power generators that data centers use must comply with Clean Air Act standards, officials ruled on Thursday.
Published: January 16, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday officially created new rules for data centers’ power generators, specifying that they must comply with Clean Air Act regulations.
The EPA’s new policies state that temporary or portable large power generators, specifically gas turbines, cannot produce air pollutant emissions exceeding the levels mandated by the federal Clean Air Act. Permitting for the turbines would also fall under federal law, rather than local or state guidelines.
Officials began looking into the rule change in December 2024, amid developers building numerous hyperscale data center projects in communities nationwide, often bringing in their own truck-trailer-mounted methane gas turbines for energy use.
Previous EPA guidance listed such power generators as exempt from Clean Air Act standards because they were generally used in short-term or emergency situations before the proliferation of AI data centers. Those large power generators will now be required to meet Clean Air Act standards, while medium and small turbines will have new exemptions.
The debate over what air standards data centers must follow has likely been most intense right outside of Memphis, Tennessee, where Elon Musk’s massive xAI data center facilities called Colossus have been fighting with local authorities about their generators’ air emissions for more than a year and a half, according to according to ABC24.
The tech giant recently won an air permit battle with local authorities in December but will likely now have to fight the federal government over its air emissions.
Environmental advocacy groups have called for city officials near the Colossus data center facilities to promptly respond to the ruling and stop companies from using methane gas turbines without a proper permit.
“EPA’s gas turbine decision makes it clear that companies are not — and have never been — allowed to build and operate methane gas turbines without a permit and that there is no loophole that would allow corporations to set up unpermitted power plants,” said Amanda Garcia, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We expect local health leaders to take swift action to ensure they are following federal law and to better protect neighbors from harmful air pollution.”
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