Virginia senator calls for statewide pause on new data center approvals
Virginia State Senator Glen Sturtevant is advocating for an immediate statewide moratorium on new data center approvals. He sent a letter to Governor Abigail Spanberger, urging her to use executive authority to halt development. Sturtevant argues that the state's infrastructure, including its power grid and water supply, needs assessment to support the rapid growth of data centers.
Virginia State Senator Glen Sturtevant has formally requested Governor Abigail Spanberger to implement an immediate statewide moratorium on new data center approvals. In a letter, Sturtevant urged the Governor to leverage her executive authority to temporarily halt development until Virginia can comprehensively assess the capacity of its critical infrastructure, including the power grid and water supply.
The Senator expressed concerns that the rapid expansion of data centers is significantly increasing electricity demand across the state and unfairly burdening residents with infrastructure costs. He cited instances where backup generators from data centers caused power fluctuations. Sturtevant also criticized large tech industries for not paying taxes while relying on expensive new generation and transmission lines paid for by taxpayers. As of publication, Governor Spanberger's office had not responded to the request.