Amazon and Duke Energy have been accused of seeking to evade Clean Air Act requirements related to the deployment of 649 diesel-fired generators at an under-development Amazon data center in Hamlet, North Carolina.

The complaint was lodged by the environmental pressure group Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which contended that the Amazon data center, currently under construction, could significantly impact the local community around it.

“One of the wealthiest companies in the world can and should do better than trying to evade critical air quality protections for a whopping 649 diesel-fired generators that belch deadly soot pollution into the air North Carolinians breathe,” said Caroline Cress, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

“We hope this blatant attempt to avoid responsibility for emitting a significant amount of harmful air pollution is not an example of what North Carolina communities should expect from data centers and regulated monopoly utility, Duke Energy. Our regulators must impose conditions on Amazon and Duke Energy that are more protective of people’s health and the air we all breathe.”

According to the SELC, Amazon applied for a state air permit to install 592 diesel-fired emergency generators to provide backup power during electricity outages. In parallel, Duke applied for a further permit to deploy 57 more generators at the same site to provide primary power for the data center until it connects to the electric grid.

The SELC argued that the separate applications were an attempt to evade the heightened air quality requirements and pollution limits that would apply if the generators were applied for under a single permit.

The environmental group added that the generators pose a real risk to the local community of Richmond County, which is one of the most economically distressed counties in North Carolina.

Duke Energy refuted the claims made by the SELC.

"These 57 leased, portable generators will provide temporary site power for AWS only during facility construction and testing. They are not connected to Duke Energy’s electric grid, and all associated costs are the responsibility of AWS, not other Duke Energy customers. These temporary generators are permitted for less than one year," the company said in a statement.

"While such temporary generators do not require that Duke Energy submit an air permit application, given their proximity to our Smith Energy Complex, we voluntarily included them within the air permit for our existing natural gas power plant. Taken together, all emissions from our power plant and the temporary generators combined will remain below the strict permit requirements set to keep the public and surrounding environment safe."

Amazon broke ground at the data center in October of last year. It is expected that the data center campus will feature up to 20 buildings at full build-out, each of which is likely to span more than 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sqm).

The site is across the street from Duke Energy’s 1.247GW Smith Energy Complex gas plant built in 2001. As part of the deal with Amazon, Duke intends to expand the plant's capacity by 240MW through a new natural gas turbine. Construction is expected to commence in late 2027, with an operational date sometime in late 2029.