Updated Research, Sources & Questions
What we know, what has changed, and what Forest Grove still deserves to understand.
Last updated: September 8, 2026
I support responsible economic development. I also believe that when Forest Grove grants major incentives or makes long-term infrastructure commitments, residents deserve to understand what our community is giving and what it receives in return.
As I have received additional documents and reviewed more primary-source material, some of my earlier concerns about the Crane Data Center have been reduced or clarified. I believe it is important to say that publicly.
The City’s Enterprise Zone contract identifies an estimated $275,259,195 in qualified property investment and provides a five-year property-tax exemption. The contract also contains negotiated payments during the later years of the exemption, including community-service and school-support payments.
The agreement includes a minimum employment provision requiring one new regular full-time employee. That is a contractual minimum, not necessarily a prediction of total staffing.
So I do not believe it is accurate to say Forest Grove receives “nothing.” The project may also generate substantial municipal electric-utility revenue. The question I continue to ask is whether the total long-term benefit to Forest Grove justifies the incentives and commitments made.
Crane currently describes the Forest Grove campus as a 100+ MW development, with redundant transmission feeds and a future on-site substation. That is an unusually large electrical load for a community-owned municipal utility.
Earlier in my research I was concerned about the amount of municipal water a data center of this size could require for cooling. Current project information materially changes that concern.
Crane describes PDX01 as using air-based cooling, and Fortis Construction also describes the project as air cooled. Based on the information currently available, I would not characterize Building 1 as a major municipal-water-cooled data center.
That is an important clarification.
The City’s land-use appeal record shows that Crane submitted an acoustical study for the project. According to the City Council’s findings, modeled noise from the project could exceed applicable standards in some locations without mitigation. The study then modeled mitigation measures, including acoustical screening, and concluded the project could comply with applicable limits.
That means it would be inaccurate to say the City ignored noise. It was studied and mitigation was required. It would also be inaccurate to say there was never a potential noise issue: the unmitigated modeling identified exceedances.
I support post-startup field measurements so residents and the City can compare real operating noise with the assumptions used during approval.
Crane’s published specifications say the Forest Grove campus will use generator sets utilizing biodiesel fuel in an N+1 configuration with 24+ hours of backup capability.
Emergency generators are normal equipment for data centers, but their emissions depend heavily on the engines, fuel, operating hours, and pollution-control systems chosen.
Oregon DEQ’s data-center permitting guidance identifies pollutants associated with combustion backup engines, including diesel particulate matter, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds and other pollutants. DEQ’s streamlined Tier 4-equivalent pathway is designed to reduce these emissions through modern control technology.
Depending on the design, controls can include selective catalytic reduction for NOx, diesel particulate filters, diesel oxidation catalysts, or comparable systems. DEQ’s streamlined data-center approach also addresses emissions during scheduled generator testing and maintenance and uses a facility-wide 50 lb/hour NOx threshold for that pathway.
I am not claiming that Crane has been demonstrated to create a health hazard. I am saying the public should be able to review the actual air permit and understand the generator inventory, emissions, controls, testing limits, and health-risk analysis.
As of September 8, 2026, I have not yet located a publicly indexed Crane-specific Oregon DEQ air-quality permit package showing:
I am actively monitoring Oregon DEQ records for filings under Crane Data Centers, Heather Street Owner LLC, PDX01, and 3975 Heather Street. When I obtain meaningful new records, I will update this page.
During earlier research, I referenced a 2023 City document showing a developer funding a $6 million BPA deposit for electrical-system work. Further review showed that document concerned Rowan Green Data LLC, a separate proposed data-center project. It should not be used as evidence of Crane’s infrastructure arrangement unless a separate City record directly connects it to the Heather Street project.
I am leaving this correction here because accuracy matters more than defending an earlier interpretation.
Concerns that have been reduced or clarified:
Questions that still deserve answers:
Research is continuing. Where information changes or corrects an earlier understanding, this page will be updated.