[PRESSWIRE] LOS ANGELES – November 17, 2025 — PLANETWEST, a leader in innovative climate technology, today announced a revolutionary solution to mitigate the rapidly escalating environmental and public health threat posed by the nation’s vast network of data centers.
The nation’s 5,000+ data centers—the hidden backbone of modern AI and cloud computing—are emerging as a significant source of pollution. New warnings from scientists at Harvard and Caltech indicate that emissions from the diesel backup generators used by these facilities could soon rival the emissions of entire industries, creating an overlooked public health hazard.
The Hidden Health Crisis and Climate Threat
The core of the problem stems from diesel exhaust, which releases toxic fine-particle pollution concentrated in major data center clusters like those in Virginia, Texas, and California.
- Public Health Threat: These tiny particles are linked to severe health issues, including heart attacks, lung disease, asthma, and cancer. Researchers estimate the annual public health cost of this pollution to be between $190 million and $260 million, with the potential to rise tenfold during high-stress events.
- The Surge Risk: The danger escalates during grid stress events, like heatwaves or load shedding, when large clusters of generators fire up simultaneously, releasing a massive surge of harmful pollutants directly into local air.
- Rapid Warming Agent:This category of pollution includes black carbon, a major component of soot. Black carbon exerts an immediate warming effect up to 1,500 times greater than CO₂ by mass, making its capture a critical strategy for near-term climate stabilization.
PLANETWEST’s Game-Changing Solution: MIDAC Technology
PLANETWEST is directly addressing this localized pollution crisis with its innovative Mobile Intelligent Direct Air Capture (MIDAC – PAT. PEND) technology.
MIDAC is uniquely engineered to capture solid carbon-based particulate matter—such as soot, black carbon, and microplastics—directly at or near the emission source using vehicles as its platform. This approach distinguishes it from traditional air capture technologies, which primarily focus on diffuse atmospheric CO₂.
- Direct-Source Capture: MIDAC technology is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure, actively drawing in ambient air to capture harmful particulates.
- Targeting Hotspots: This localized approach is highly energy-efficient because it focuses on pollution hotspots—like data centers – where particulate matter is highly concentrated—offering a more impactful and rapid climate and health benefit.
- Responsible Disposal: Captured hazardous particulates are securely stored within an internal tank for efficient offloading and responsible disposal or recycling, ensuring they are permanently removed from the environment.
PLANETWEST believes that localized air purification with MIDAC offers a powerful, immediate strategy to protect community health and deliver faster climate benefits, complementing long-term carbon reduction efforts.
Media Contact:
ccatlin@planetwest.net
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