EPA says power for data centers can sidestep pollution laws

美国环保署称数据中心电力供应可绕过污染法规

EPA Issues Permitting Guidance to Further President Trump’s Agenda Promoting Data Centers and Safeguarding Communities 美国环保署发布许可指南，以推进特朗普总统促进数据中心发展并保障社区安全的议程

July 27, 2026 Contact Information EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov) WASHINGTON – This month, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidance clarifying that the Clean Air Act (CAA) Acid Rain Program (ARP) does not apply to power generation facilities that are not connected to a public electricity grid, commonly referred to as “islanded” power generation facilities. 2026年7月27日，联系方式：美国环保署新闻办公室 (press@epa.gov)。华盛顿——本月，美国环保署（EPA）发布了一项指南，明确指出《清洁空气法》（CAA）下的“酸雨计划”（ARP）不适用于未连接公共电网的发电设施，即通常所说的“孤岛式”发电设施。

The guidance expands opportunities for companies to develop and operate islanded power generation facilities for data centers. This will give developers greater flexibility in where and how quickly they can build new facilities while helping to protect the environment and reducing burdens on communities’ electric grid. 该指南扩大了企业为数据中心开发和运营“孤岛式”发电设施的机会。这将为开发商在选址和建设速度上提供更大的灵活性，同时有助于保护环境并减轻社区电网的负担。

This guidance furthers the principals of President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which was expanded last week during an event at EPA. Companies that sign the President’s pledge are committing to build, bring, or buy all of the energy needed to power their facilities and to pay the full cost of that energy and its supporting infrastructure, no matter what. 该指南进一步贯彻了唐纳德·特朗普总统的“纳税人保护承诺”（Ratepayer Protection Pledge）原则，该承诺于上周在环保署的一次活动中得到了扩展。签署该承诺的企业承诺，无论如何都将自行建设、引入或购买其设施所需的所有能源，并承担这些能源及其配套基础设施的全部成本。

Ratepayer Protection Pledge extends those obligations across the full chain of parties whose decisions determine what a family schedulings pay each month: the electric utilities that set rates, the developers that build the facilities, and the States that regulate both. “纳税人保护承诺”将这些义务扩展到了决定家庭每月电费支出的整个利益相关链条：制定费率的电力公司、建设设施的开发商，以及监管这两者的州政府。

“Ensuring that the United States maintains our artificial intelligence dominance is essential to national security and economic prosperity. At the same time, it is equally important that we safeguard our communities from utility price hikes,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Aaron Szabo. “This guidance will provide an avenue to do both. EPA is proud to further the President’s agenda through commonsense approaches to regulating.” “确保美国保持人工智能领域的领先地位对于国家安全和经济繁荣至关重要。与此同时，保护我们的社区免受公用事业价格上涨的影响也同样重要，”环保署负责空气与辐射事务的助理署长亚伦·萨博（Aaron Szabo）表示。“该指南将提供一种兼顾两者的途径。环保署很自豪能通过常识性的监管方法来推进总统的议程。”

EPA’s guidance clarifies that under the best reading of the CAA, the ARP applies to facilities that sell electricity or are required to report as a generating unit to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Because “islanded” power generation facilities neither sell electricity nor have required reporting to DOE, EPA has concluded that these facilities are not subject to the ARP. 环保署的指南明确指出，根据对《清洁空气法》的最佳解读，酸雨计划适用于销售电力或被要求向美国能源部（DOE）报告为发电单位的设施。由于“孤岛式”发电设施既不销售电力，也不需要向能源部报告，因此环保署得出结论：这些设施不受酸雨计划的约束。

If a company develops a power generation facility that is not grid connected, but at a future date the company does connect the facility to the grid, the facility may be subject to the provisions in the ARP. To read EPA’s guidance, visit here. 如果一家公司开发了一个未连接电网的发电设施，但未来将其连接到电网，该设施可能会受到酸雨计划相关条款的约束。如需阅读环保署的指南，请点击此处。