The comment period on a draft air permit for twelve diesel emergency generators at a planned data center in South Brunswick, New Jersey, closed on 7 October. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) drafted the permit for the site at 4405 Route 1; the developer is not named in the notice, W4 News reported on 27 September. A public hearing was held on 23 September.
Each of the twelve engines is rated at 3,620 kW. The draft allows each engine 28 hours a year for testing and maintenance and puts the site's potential annual emissions at 12.65 tons of nitrogen oxides, 3.52 tons of carbon monoxide and 0.143 tons of volatile organic compounds. Each engine is held to 75.28 pounds of NOx per hour.
Test Runs With a Clock and a Weather Forecast
The more telling part is how testing is restricted. According to W4 News, the draft confines testing to daytime hours, limits how many engines may run at the same time and allows a larger group only in an early-afternoon window. No tests are allowed on days when unhealthy air quality is forecast, unless a federal rule requires the test.
For the operator, the test calendar becomes a permit matter. Routine runs, annual load tests and runs after maintenance all have to fit into those windows and into 28 hours per engine, and an air quality forecast can cancel a planned test at short notice. Commissioning and load bank testing need the same planning. A programme that assumed the whole yard would run together for a site test needs another look.
Residents Point to Batteries
The project has drawn objections. In a letter to the Princeton weekly Town Topics on the last day of the comment period, a local resident described the plan as a 350,000-square-foot data center on former Princeton Nurseries land, warned about the health effects of diesel exhaust and asked for battery storage instead.
The letter refers to a 29 September piece by the Union of Concerned Scientists. It argues for batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, rejects gas generators as an alternative and calls for closer scrutiny of when backup generators are run. The same piece notes that EPA Tier 4 engines emit over 90 % less than Tier 2 engines for certain pollutants.
The final decision is with NJDEP. The draft already shows the kind of conditions a backup plant near homes can expect: limited hours, fixed test windows and a record of every run. A generator yard planned around them from the first layout causes fewer surprises at the permit stage.
Sources: W4 News, Town Topics, Union of Concerned Scientists