Amazon Withdraws King George Data Center Groundwater Permit; Virginia Speaker Raises Data Center Cost Concerns in Utility Merger Review

Amazon Web Services has rescinded its application to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for a permit to extract 6.4 million gallons of groundwater annually for a data center campus planned for King George County. This withdrawal came after significant local opposition, including from the county water utility and State Sen. Richard Stuart (R-King George), who highlighted concerns about the already depleted Potomac aquifer in the area. While DEQ staff had found Amazon's request technically compliant, the county faces state mandates to reduce its own water withdrawals and had been denied additional water for housing and medical facilities.

Separately, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) has formally urged the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to make affordability for Virginians a top priority in its review of the proposed $67 billion merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. In a letter to SCC Chair Kelsey Bagot, Speaker Scott emphasized that the merger should not result in any rate increases for customers and specifically called for data centers to bear the full cost of the necessary generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. He also suggested co-headquarters in Richmond and called for enforceable conditions on the combined utility.

Adding to the complexities, Amazon and King George County are still engaged in legal proceedings concerning a 2023 development agreement that a newly elected county board later rescinded, as well as the rezoning of the data center site.