Scale Microgrids has applied to the DNR for a permit for a power generation facility at the proposed data center site south of Maryville that would sell up to 600 megawatts of electricity to the local bulk electric system. RTP Environmental, a company based in South Carolina, filed the paperwork with DNR on behalf of Scale. There would be 12 simple-cycle turbines. The company says that the facility will not be a major source under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations because the facility’s maximum annual emissions will be less than 250 tons per year for each pollutant.
All the required paperwork for the proposed project is available online at the Missouri DNR website.
The power generator would be a simple-cycle natural gas-fired electric generating facility. It would interconnect with the Southwest Power Pool transmission system at the Mullin Creek substation via a new high-voltage substation to be constructed as part of the proposed data center.
The project, under White Cloud Generating, would be under a different entity than the data center, which is under White Cloud Acres. The stated purpose is to provide reliable electric service in the area, including the ability of the local electric utility to serve a data center load.
The power generation facility would be located at 340th Street and Jet Road near Barnard, Pumpkin Center, and Maryville.
The components would consist of 12 simple-cycle natural gas fired combustion turbines, each with an evaporative cooler and each with a Hot SCR for NO2 control and an oxidation catalyst for CO and VOC control. There would be 12 electric fuel gas heaters, two emergency diesel engine fire pumps, two 400-gallon diesel fuel tanks, 12 lubricating oil tanks, and two 20,000-gallon aqueous ammonia storage tanks. Natural gas would come from a nearby ANR pipeline.
The diesel engine fire pumps would only be operated during emergency situations and once a week for 30 minutes for testing purposes. Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel would be used in the emergency diesel engine fire pumps. The electric heaters would be used to prevent the natural gas from condensing.
If White Cloud Generating gets a permit and a notice to proceed, construction of the project would take approximately 12 months.
The combustion turbines are proposed to be operated at baseload up to 8,685 hours per year, or just under 24 hours a day.
The Missouri DNR has primary jurisdiction over air emissions by enforcing its own regulations as well as the EPA regulations.
As part of its permit requirements, White Cloud Generating will be required to do extensive recordkeeping, monitoring, performance tests, notification of both the DNR and EPA, and ensuring that equipment purchased meets DNR and EPA regulations. White Cloud Generating will do maintenance checks on its emergency diesel engine fire pumps for up to 100 hours per year.
The project will be subject to Acid Rain Program Regulations. The Acid Rain Program, according to the EPA website, requires major emission reductions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, the primary precursors of acid rain, from the power sector. The program sets a permanent cap on the total amount of Sulfur dioxide which can be emitted by electric generating units in the United States. The final cap was set in 2010 at 8.95 million tons total. White Cloud Generating will submit an Acid Rain Permit Application at least 24 months before the units commence commercial operating.
The projected date to start construction is February 2027, which is after the Nodaway County data center moratorium is set to expire, unless the County Commission extends it. The projected date of operation startup is February 2028.
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