LOWELL — More generators and diesel fuel tanks may be coming to Lowell’s Sacred Heart neighborhood to support the ever-expanding data-storage and cloud-computing work of Markley Group LLC.
The Boston- and Los Angeles-based international company submitted a fuel storage application to the Lowell City Council during the petitions portion of its April 8 meeting.
“As part of this phase of construction they [Markley] are proposing to install four (4) additional emergency generators each with an aboveground 6,000-gallon diesel fuel belly tank,” said the document submitted by Senior Project Manager William Taber, with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, a civil engineering company applying on behalf of Markley.
The total volume of diesel fuel proposed to be stored as part of this phase of construction is 24,000 gallons. If the license is approved, it will increase the onsite diesel fuel storage from 47,000 gallons to 71,000 gallons. As comparison, a gas station’s fuel storage tank ranges from around 12,000 gallons to 24,000 gallons.
The company bills itself as New England’s largest and longest-operating telecommunications and data center developer. In addition to its Lowell facility, it has a major fiber data hub center, also known as a connected carrier hotel, in Downtown Boston. Its systems power and provide routing to a wide variety of private companies, state and local governments, universities and internet companies.
But unlike the Boston facility, which runs on natural gas, Markley’s Lowell facility runs on diesel fuel.
The amount of combustible fuel to power the large-scale, diesel-fired plant concerned Councilor Kim Scott who represents District 5, which includes Sacred Heart and South Lowell.
“I’d just like to express my concern with the project about adding more diesel tanks to the project,” she said in response to the petition. “It contradicts our values that are in our plans for Lowell Forward that call for us to be carbon neutral by 2050.”
She noted that the light industrial site sits in the middle of a densely populated area that is also an environmental justice neighborhood.
“How do we get there if we keep on approving more and more diesel tanks within our neighborhoods?” Scott said.
According to a 74-pageMass. Department of Environmental Protection report, Markley’s site currently houses 14 diesel-powered generators using onsite fuel storage.
Markley purchased the almost 15-acre site in 2015. At that time, the Planning Board granted Markley site plan review approval to open the data center in the 350,000-square-foot former Prince Pasta factory.
In 2018, the Planning Board granted site plan review approval to expand the data center, including construction of a 65,000-square-foot building, a parking lot and stormwater management system.
In June 2020, the Building Department received a tip from an abutter that work was underway that appeared to exceed the scope of the approved parking plan. Markley was planning to construct water tanks in that location instead of parking, which was stopped pending amending the 2018 site plan approval. That approval was granted with conditions that November.
At that time, Markley also received approval from the City Council to amend its license to store 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboveground.
By 2024, the company was expanding again, proposing to upgrade its “critical infrastructure” related to itsdata processing centerlocated at 2 Prince Ave. and 1 Markley Way.
The Planning Board approved Markley’s request to expand its operations to four additional generators, nine additional modular chiller plants and an additional water treatment plant. The plan reflects the company’s growing space in the artificial intelligence and data storage field.
Resident Jake Fortes asked the council to schedule a site visit prior to the required public hearing on the petition. He has been an active voice at the various hearings, pushing for more compliance and oversight of Markley’s site work.
“Visit the area and look at the entire area,” Fortes said. ”And not just from the Markley Group’s perspective, but actually walk the neighborhood and see the impact of their changes to the neighborhood. Before you do a vote, please familiarize yourself with it.”
Scott’s motion to refer Markley’s petition to the Environmental Subcommittee unanimously passed.
“I think we need to talk a little bit further about this,” she said. “I’d like to hear from our sustainability director about her feeling on this.”
According to Markley documents, the company expects its energy needs to continue to grow, leading to more petitions for additional fuel tank storage.
“Please note that Markley will be proposing additional generators with aboveground fuel tanks for this site during future phases of development,” VHB’s Taber said.
