Data center fears on display at Prince William town hall
A town hall in Prince William County, Virginia, hosted by State Sen. Louise Lucas, highlighted widespread public concerns about data center development. Residents voiced worries about environmental impacts, increased electric bills, and water depletion, while state legislators debated data center tax breaks and proposed impact fees.
State Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) organized a town hall in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of a series to address public concerns about data center expansion in Northern Virginia. Residents, including Karen Sheehan and Lana Crave, expressed fears regarding the environmental impact on air, water, and land, potential depletion of local water supplies, and increased electricity costs.
Greg Pirio from Loudoun County also spoke about noise and air pollution affecting his community's quality of life. The discussions focused heavily on the state's tax breaks for data centers, which totaled over $1 billion in foregone revenue last year.
In the contentious state budget negotiations, Gov. Abigail Spanberger and leaders in the House of Delegates support maintaining the tax break and forming a commission to study data center impacts. In contrast, Senator Lucas and the Virginia Senate, after initially proposing to end the tax break, now support establishing a new impact fee on data centers' diesel generators, projected to generate over $1 billion by fiscal year 2028.