Virginia’s state and national parks, battlefields, and other historic and recreational sites are under threat from uncontrolled data center development. One notable example is Wilderness Battlefield, in Orange County, which was named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2024 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Prince William County
Land use issues in Prince William County have an outsized impact on PEC’s nine-county region, considering its proximity to Fauquier and Loudoun.
Action Needed: New transmission line designation threatens Virginia communities
Tell the U.S. Department of Energy that fueling skyrocketing data center energy demand with coal-fired power plants is not an acceptable solution.
Thinking about Solar for Your Home?
By investing in rooftop solar for your home, you can save money, protect yourself from rising utility rates and, when paired with a backup battery, create “off the grid” energy independence
Take Action: Protect Local Government Accountability
We need your help opposing House Bill 1459 (Owen), which will be voted on by the full Counties, Cities and Towns Committee this Friday morning at 9 a.m.
Video: “The Hidden Costs of the Cloud: Data Centers in Virginia”
Virginia is undergoing an unprecedented economic, technological, and environmental transformation, all centered around the activities of one industry: data centers.
Power Surge: Data center boom leads to expansive transmission proposals
We must address the booming data center growth in our state that is requiring unprecedented expansions of our energy grid and hindering our ability to get off of fossil fuels.
Prince William Board to Vote on World’s Largest Data Center Proposal Dec. 12
Prince William County’s planning staff and the Planning Commission have recommended denial of the Digital Gateway rezonings.
Existing and Proposed Data Centers – A Web Map
How many data centers currently exist in Virginia? How many proposals are in the works? These are very good questions. It’s also extremely difficult to provide an answer, given there is no publicly available dataset or state-level tracking of these facilities. In response, The Piedmont Environmental Council has pulled together an online web map showing existing data center facilities (that we are aware of), along with pending data center proposals we have found on various town and county websites, as well as through various news outlets.
Transmission line update and community meeting invite
In September, I wrote to you about the explosive growth of Virginia’s data center industry and one of the side effects: a major push for new transmission lines.
Putting the Pieces Together on Digital Gateway
Since 2021, PEC has been supporting our partners’ heroic efforts to stop the largest data center campus in the world from being built on rural land next to Manassas National Battlefield Park, along Pageland Lane in Prince William County, Virginia.
The proposal, dubbed “Digital Gateway,” is massive and is projected to require around 3 gigawatts (GW) of energy. For context, that’s equivalent to the power used by 750,000 homes – roughly 5 times the number of households currently in Prince William County!