Virginia faces a collision of policy choices on data centers and energy
Virginia is grappling with complex policy decisions concerning data center growth, its impact on energy and water resources, and local land-use. State senators are calling for special legislative sessions to address these issues, including a potential moratorium on data center development. Localities are divided, with some seeking data centers for tax revenue while others voice opposition due to resource demands.
The state of Virginia is grappling with complex policy decisions regarding the rapid expansion of data centers and their profound impact on energy, water resources, and land use. Several state senators from both Republican and Democratic parties have called for special legislative sessions to address these converging issues. Senator David Suetterlein and Delegate Joe McNamara, both Republicans from the Roanoke Valley, initiated a bipartisan call for a special session to consider a proposed merger between Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra, a merger influenced by Dominion's role in serving Virginia's numerous data centers.
Concurrently, Senators Russet Perry (D-Loudoun County) and Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland County) have requested a special session to review a state report highlighting severe strain on eastern Virginia's groundwater from "water-hungry" data centers, with evidence of declining aquifer levels, land subsidence, and saltwater intrusion. Adding to the calls, Senator Glen Sturtevant (R-Chesterfield County) has urged the Governor to impose a moratorium on data center development, arguing that current growth is "reshaping the Commonwealth’s electric grid, water resources, land use, and the cost of electricity," necessitating a statewide approach rather than isolated local decisions.
These legislative concerns arise as Virginia faces escalating energy demand from data centers while simultaneously striving to meet the carbon-free goals of the Clean Economy Act by 2045-2050. This has led to increased solar and, controversially, new gas plant proposals, creating conflicts between state energy policy and local land-use autonomy. While some rural counties, like those in the Virginia Gateway Region (e.g., Greensville County), actively seek data centers for substantial tax revenues and job creation, others, such as Botetourt County, are seeing visible opposition to both data centers and industrial solar. Notably, Google is developing a data center in Botetourt, and Stack Development plans a large complex in Pittsylvania County. The article underscores the economic disparities and environmental challenges, pointing out that AI-driven data center growth is creating blue-collar jobs in the supply chain (e.g., Munters, Hitachi) but straining the PJM electric grid and demanding difficult trade-offs between water and electricity usage.