{
  "id": 3936826,
  "title": "The rush to power data centers is weakening the Clean Air Act",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/the-rush-to-power-data-centers-is-weakening-the-clean-air-act",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-28T08:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Grist",
    "slug": "grist",
    "url": "https://grist.org/regulation/the-rush-to-power-data-centers-is-weakening-the-clean-air-act/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The push for data centers to generate their own electricity has weakened the Clean Air Act's effectiveness, according to recent developments. This is because the rush to build data centers has raised concerns about their environmental and climate impacts, with much of the new capacity relying on burning fossil fuels. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have taken steps to restrict new data centers, citing their high electricity costs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published guidance on \"islanded\" power plants, stating that the Clean Air Act's Acid Rain Program does not apply to those built to serve a single facility rather than the electricity grid. This loosening of regulations has left state agencies without a reliable tool to gauge the impact of these power plants. The Acid Rain Program, part of the Clean Air Act, was designed to address emissions from large power plants and has significantly reduced sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions since 1990. However, the guidance allows for greater flexibility in building and operating islanded power generation facilities for data centers, potentially increasing environmental and climate impacts.",
  "summary": "New guidance from the EPA takes away one of the most reliable tools for tracking pollution from power plants — and encourages data centers to build their own.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}