# Lowell residents sue over data centre’s 27 diesel generators 2026-08-14T15:08:05+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Ten residents in Lowell, Massachusetts, have sued the state's environmental regulator and Markley Group over a data centre expansion that would add eight diesel generators and 16 cooling towers, bringing the facility's total to 27 industrial-scale backup generators. The lawsuit, filed in Middlesex County Superior Court on April 27, 2026, challenges the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's approval of an air-quality plan for the project, alleging that residents were denied a proper opportunity to contest it. The facility, located in densely populated neighbourhoods designated as Environmental Justice populations, sits near homes, a public park, and a preschool. Plaintiffs cite concerns over diesel emissions, noise, dust, and cooling-tower mist. Markley contends the generators are emergency backups, running roughly five minutes weekly for testing. The Times of India reports that residents are also challenging an administrative consent order that let construction proceed while their appeal was pending. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: Markley Group, Massachusetts, Yale Law School Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/lowell-residents-sue-over-data-centres-27-diesel-generators/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/lowell-residents-sue-over-data-centres-27-diesel-generators/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.