Environmental scientist calls for stronger Virginia data center policies
Environmental scientist Sam McClintock argues that Virginia needs to enact stronger policies to regulate data centers immediately, rather than deferring action. He criticizes the proposed "Data Center Accountability" (DCA) rules by the House Appropriations Committee as insufficient, noting they lack environmental language, retain industry tax breaks, and propose yet another study despite existing reports. The article highlights data centers' substantial electricity and water consumption, along with their contribution to carbon emissions in the state.
In a guest column, environmental scientist and consultant Sam McClintock of Williamsburg urges Virginia to immediately implement more robust policies to regulate data centers. He warns that data centers, which consumed 31 terawatt-hours in 2025 and are projected to use half of the commonwealth's electricity within a decade, are having significant negative impacts that the state can no longer ignore.
McClintock criticizes the recently proposed "Data Center Accountability" (DCA) rules by the Virginia House Appropriations Committee, labeling them as having "no tangible accountability." He points out that the rules stripped out environmental language, maintained industry tax breaks, and established a new commission for another study, effectively deferring meaningful action despite a comprehensive data center report funded by Virginia in 2024. The author expresses concern that the rules omit any mention of carbon emissions or climate change, despite data centers being projected to generate 50% of Virginia's electricity-related carbon emissions, partly due to imported electricity from coal and gas plants.
Furthermore, the article highlights the substantial water consumption by data centers, estimated at 40 million gallons per day, largely attributed to power generation. McClintock argues that while data centers provide short-term revenue and jobs, the long-term environmental and infrastructure costs, including strain on aging power lines, necessitate new regulations. He suggests that Virginia, like Ireland, can implement new rules without deterring all data center development, given its strong internet connectivity and industry cluster effect.
The column concludes by emphasizing the urgent need for new rules to address the lopsided data center power draw and encourage clean energy development, rather than relying on current policies that include $1.6 billion per year in tax breaks for major tech companies like Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta, and Microsoft Azure.