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.
Dominion
Latest on Amazon’s data center in Warrenton
Since we last updated you on Amazon’s Warrenton data center, Amazon has spent these couple of months responding to the Town’s first round of comments on its initial site development plan.
2024 General Assembly: Building Bipartisan Support for Conservation
Updates on the conversations taking place in Richmond and a few of the ways PEC is working to support conservation efforts statewide.
Data Centers, Surging Power Demand Take Center Stage
The size, scale, and speed at which applications for data center projects are coming in and being approved is astounding.
Just this month, massive proposals moved forward in Culpeper, Louisa, and King George counties, with more being reviewed in Caroline and Stafford counties. Prince William, Loudoun, Fairfax, and Fauquier counties all have multiple active proposals for hyperscale data centers, which can demand hundreds of megawatts of power per campus. As an example, the data center campus just approved in King George County could total more than 1,200 MW alone.
The Environmental Footprint of the Digital Age
Virginia is subsidizing billions of dollars in data center development on the backs of its ratepayers, without a full understanding of the long-term ramifications.
One Approved, Another on the Horizon
Approval of Copper Ridge; Cielo data center campus proposed just east of Town.
Initial Transmission Proposals – PEC Web Map
Transmission line proposals to serve the explosive growth of data centers in Virginia over the past few years have begun to roll in.
PEC Responds to Dominion Energy’s Proposed 2023 Integrated Resource Plan
In September, The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse submitted public comment on Dominion Energy’s proposed Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) as part of case number PUR-2023-00066 before the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
Mitigating Data Center Development’s Impacts
Virginia is home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, widely cited as hosting 70% of global internet traffic. This massive industry is continuing to grow very fast, requiring huge amounts of energy, land, and water to operate, resulting in widespread community impacts.
Town Planning Commission to Vote on Copper Ridge Data Center Campus on Aug. 15
The public hearing is still open for public comment!