Push for Virginia Data Center Moratorium Supported at Leesburg Rally
About 100 people attended a rally in Leesburg supporting a proposed three-year statewide moratorium on new data center development in Virginia. State legislators and environmental advocates said the pause would allow time to create rules addressing data centers’ impacts on electricity demand, water, farmland, pollution and transmission infrastructure.
The Piedmont Environmental Council organized a rally at the Loudoun County courthouse in Leesburg, where roughly 100 supporters backed a proposed three-year moratorium on new data center projects across Virginia. Residents described concerns about power lines, electric bills, groundwater, pollution and community impacts associated with the industry’s rapid growth in Loudoun County.
Sen. Russet Perry said her proposed SB 843 would pause development while state officials establish rules governing the scale, design, location and infrastructure costs of data centers. Del. John McAuliff and other speakers also called for limits on diesel generators, restrictions on projects in farmland and low-groundwater areas, and stronger protections for communities affected by transmission lines. The rally took place shortly before a Loudoun County Board of Supervisors vote on measures intended to slow review of data center projects.