A data center is a highly secure facility that houses powerful computers and servers used to store, process, and transmit digital information. These facilities support everyday services people and businesses rely on, such as cloud storage, online banking, streaming, email, medical records, and government and business operations.

Atmosphere Data Centers is the contract purchaser of the site and will develop and operate the campus. End users will operate within the facilities once constructed. 

Power will be supplied via existing FirstEnergy transmission lines that border the site. Atmosphere will:

• Construct a new on-site substation and switchyard

• Fund the substation construction at its expense

• Connect directly to adjacent transmission infrastructure

No new off-site transmission corridors are required.

The data center end user on site will pay for all electricity used by the facilities on the property, including the data centers themselves.

No, there are no impacts related to the data center campus in proximity to the C&O Canal towpath. The data center campus will not be visible from the towpath, and the project does not affect hikers, bikers, or canal resources due to physical separation and the reuse of existing infrastructure from the longstanding industrial use of the property.

The project will not create new demands on local groundwater or public systems. The data center campus will only use well water from an existing well for domestic use, (e.g. bathrooms or break room sinks), not cooling. Well water usage will be reallocated amongst existing site wells for no net usage increase.

All cooling water will be sourced from the Potomac River, consistent with the site’s long history as an industrial energy facility. The data center campus will have an expected maximum daily withdrawal rate that is about 900 times less than the previous power plant.

All water usage is subject to State permitting and oversight.

Atmosphere-DC will use an on-site package plant to ensure sewage treatment is handled on site.

Yes, the data center campus will include diesel backup generators. Generators are only used in rare emergency situations, such as widespread power outages that would also affect nearby homes and businesses, and during limited testing required by regulation. They are not used for routine operations and/or primary power.

All generators are subject to strict oversight by the State. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) oversees air-quality permitting to limit emissions, requires the use of modern pollution-control technology, and restricts how often generators can operate. Fuel storage and handling systems must meet MDE requirements for spill prevention, secondary containment, and monitoring, significantly reducing the risk of leaks or environmental impacts. All data center generators on the campus may have Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) to reduce emissions. These safeguards are designed to ensure that backup power systems operate safely, responsibly, and only when necessary.