This text was taken from an email sent out on Jan. 15, 2025. Sign up for email alerts →

Last week, you received an email from my colleague John McCarthy about the 2025 Virginia General Assembly kicking off. Things are moving quickly during this year’s “short session;” just this week, several important bills related to data center reform were announced at a press conference hosted by Sen. Russet Perry and other legislators. More on that at the bottom of this email.

We are working with our partners and members to encourage decisions that protect the cultural and natural resources of the Virginia Piedmont. As you might know, data center reform is one of our priority topics during this legislative session because of the threats to Piedmont communities and land conservation efforts.

Now is the time to step up and lobby members of the General Assembly to create lasting change.

You Can Make an Impact: Join Us on Data Center Lobby Day

With the support of people like you, we have been able to educate and mobilize groups across the state to bring attention to the threats posed by this burgeoning industry. There’s still much to be done. Take action for your community and ensure that your legislators support data center reform.

Register to join us on Monday, Jan. 20 to meet with legislators in Richmond and advocate for smarter data center development. You can directly encourage your legislators to demand much needed reform for the unchecked proliferation of data centers in Virginia. Our local air quality, water quality and supply, climate and our communities matter!

All are welcome — no experience necessary! 

What to Expect:

• Tips and online training Thursday, Jan. 16 to prepare you for the day. Register to receive the link.
• Meetings with legislators (you’ll have expert guidance!)
• Breakfast, lunch and networking with fellow advocates
• Bus transportation available from Haymarket, Va
• A keynote speech from PEC President Chris Miller 
• Speeches by Virginia legislators leading on data center reform
• Closing speech by leading community advocate Elena Schlossberg

We have reserved a bus from the Haymarket Park and Ride, set to depart for Richmond at 5:30 a.m. and return to Haymarket around 4:30 p.m. Free parking is available on-site. The bus is a stress-free and more environmentally friendly way to join the fun! Coffee and morning snacks will be available, and the bus will have a bathroom. Upon registration, please indicate if you would like to reserve a seat on the bus. Space is limited! [More info and registration]

Please note that Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There will be multiple road closures around the General Assembly Building, but the General Assembly is still in session on this day.

---

What’s the Deal with Data Centers?

Virginia is home to over 470 data centers, making it the largest concentration in the world. The cumulative impact of these massive data centers, without state-level oversight or transparency, puts our energy grid, air quality, water supply and lands at risk and places costs on residents and other businesses. 

Who is going to foot the incredulous energy bill?

Virginia ratepayers like you, me, farms and small businesses will be subsidizing the infrastructure cost through our electric bills. Dominion Energy forecasts that its peak energy capacity will more than double by 2039, largely due to the contracts it holds with data centers. The analysis in Dominion’s own Integrated Resource Plan shows that household energy bills across Virginia could increase by over 120% over the next 15 years. In other words, many of these communities that do not host data centers could bear the financial burden of the industry without receiving any of the touted economic and tax benefits. 

How will the industry impact air quality, climate goals, water resources, community health and the environment?

The recent state legislative study found that growing energy demands of data centers would be “difficult” to “very difficult” to meet, even with massive increases in all energy generation types. Utility companies are proposing to add fossil fuel power plants to meet these demands, impacting our local air quality and further contributing to climate change. The same study found that water usage from data centers can be “substantial,” yet there is little transparency or oversight of the industry’s usage of this critical resource. A single private industry should not be allowed to derail Virginia from its conservation and clean energy goals.

PEC’s Approach: The Four Pillars

PEC is a lead organizer of a state-wide coalition of organizations and communities concerned about the impacts of the data center boom. This Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition is urging state lawmakers to study the cumulative effects of data center development in Virginia, and to institute several commonsense regulatory and rate-making reforms for the industry.

The Piedmont Environmental Council advocates for data center reform around four main pillars:

Each pillar can independently bring great improvement in the industry; taken together, they provide a framework for comprehensive reform. Several data center reform bills have been introduced for the 2025 General Assembly session that advocate for a smarter development approach and embrace parts of our four main pillars of reform.

Legislators Introduce Data Center Reform Bills

On Tuesday, we were pleased to attend a press conference in Richmond about many of the bills that have been introduced this session. Sen. Russet Perry and a bipartisan group of supporting legislators including Del. Michael Webert, Del. Michelle Maldonado, Del. Shelly Simonds, Del. Josh Thomas and Del. Rip Sullivan spoke about the much needed legislation. For more information, see the press release we sent out and watch the livestream of the press conference on Facebook.

There have already been a number of data center reform bills this session that align with our four pillars, and we urge you to support them. Four that stand out to us are: 

• HB 2027: adds a state permit approval process in addition to the local review to more thoroughly review and consider regional impacts to the electric grid and safeguard the public interests of the state.
• HB 2035: establishes a publicly accessible centralized tracking system that includes information about energy and water use that enhances transparency, oversight and allows for better planning.
• HB2101/SB960: directs the State Corporation Commission to ensure energy expenses are distributed fairly and mandates the SCC to protect non-data center customers from bill increases associated with data center load growth.
• SB1196: would require data center operators to meet high energy efficiency and renewable energy procurement standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases.

---

Thanks to your hard work locally and through the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition, legislators are stepping up to bring about a smarter digital future for our state. The bills are in — now is the time to make your voice heard! Help us spread the word on Jan. 20!

If you are unable to join us in Richmond on Monday, consider joining PEC, our Virginia Conservation Network partners and fellow advocates on Wednesday, Jan. 22 for Conservation Lobby Day.

As always, thanks for your continued support. Keep an eye out for updates on data center legislation as the General Assembly session moves forward.

Sincerely,

Julie Bolthouse
Director of Land Use
[email protected]
(540) 347-2334 x7042