Several pieces of legislation have been introduced to reform data center development and protect Virginia ratepayers.
General Assembly
Find out more about what we are tracking during Virginia’s annual legislative session.
The 2025 Virginia General Assembly is in Session.
An overview of the topics that PEC has its eye on this session: data center reform, land conservation and public access, solar implementation, housing and local land use authority
Four Pillars of Data Center Reform
Without strong regulatory and legislative intervention, the risks and costs of the immense infrastructure supporting data centers is destined to be passed on to all ratepayers, including other businesses and residents.
General Assembly Snapshot: 2025
The General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8 for a planned “short session” that runs through Feb. 22. PEC has co-authored several white papers that form the framework of the Virginia Conservation Network’s legislative priorities.
Dominion Energy Integrated Resource Plan projects historic rate increases for Virginia ratepayers while subsidizing the world’s wealthiest companies
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filed by Dominion
Energy with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (“SCC”) this week projects a more than 100
percent increase in electricity usage in the next 15 years, primarily driven by the explosive and
uncontrolled growth of data centers.
Call for State Action on Data Centers Gets Louder
During the 2024 General Assembly session, Virginia legislators failed to take action to address the concerns raised by residents and environmental groups about the proliferation of data centers.
In the Driver’s Seat on Parking Lot Solar
Since Virginia is still at the beginning of its energy transition, now is the perfect time to rebuild our energy system in a way that is just and fair to all Virginia residents and ratepayers. Toward that end, PEC has taken the lead in aggressively exploring the viability of parking lot solar in Virginia.
A Mixed Bag at the General Assembly
This has been a very busy, and challenging, legislative session.
Bills and Budget Amendments Post-Crossover
Now at crossover, some notable progress has been made on a few key priorities of the environmental community.
Data Center Legislation in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly
Numerous pieces of legislation related to data center reform were introduced as part of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly Session. Unfortunately, the majority of the bills were defeated or carried over to the 2025 Virginia General Assembly Session.