Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection has granted Iron City Wells LLC a permit allowing the construction and installation of 15 natural gas-fired electric generators to power an AI data center in Karthaus Township, Clearfield County.

According to the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the generators will power a “computing center” at the Iron City No.1 Power Generator and Compute Center facility.

The approval contains requirements relating to emission limits, monitoring, testing, work practice, recordkeeping, and reporting conditions.

The Department of Environmental Protection said that Iron City Wells indicated that the “air contamination source” to be constructed would comply with all regulatory requirements pertaining to air contamination sources.

Emissions from the generators will not exceed 19.93 tons of nitrogen oxides per year, 29.52 tons of carbon monoxide per year, 20.43 tons of volatile organic compounds per year, 3.03 tons of particulate matter less than ten microns and less than 2.5 microns, 0.92 ton of hazardous air pollutants, 0.20 ton of sulfur oxides, and 51,759 tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Rapid AI expansion is causing a surge in energy demand across the US. The data center industry has historically been a leader in sustainable energy, but with the rise of AI data centers and their power requirements, natural gas has become the frontrunner for a scalable and available option to meet the demand.