DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT
Our Commitment
Mitigating the data center industry’s colossal environmental footprint.
THE ISSUE
Data centers are large industrial buildings filled with computers that store, process, and distribute large amounts of digital information. Northern Virginia leads the world in data center development, housing nearly 50% of all US facilities. This massive industry continues to grow rapidly, requiring huge amounts of energy, land, and water to operate, resulting in widespread community impacts. Yet, the Commonwealth does not currently have any regulatory oversight of data center development and localities continue to approve more facilities without considering the cumulative impacts. This explosive growth of data centers threatens to derail state efforts to meet climate goals, improve air and water quality, advance land conservation, and protect national and state parks.
ARTICLE: Will data centers harm Shenandoah National Park?
Our Partners warn of dire consequences from the data center industry for Shenandoah State Park in an InsideNOVA article.
Bill of the Day: Mitigating the Impact of Data Centers’ Explosive Growth
VCN advocates regulating data center growth to assess their impact on natural resources, energy consumption, and public health before development.
Land Use & Transportation Policy: 2023 General Assembly Review
Policies to defend Clean Car Standards, make streets safer for people who walk and bike, and support public transit funding.
Bill of the Day: Data Centers’ Impact on the Environment
Data centers consume massive amounts of resources, and we don’t fully know just how bad the consequences will be. Support SJ240!
RESOURCES
MAP: Existing and Proposed Data Centers
Piedmont Environmental Council presents a simple, digestible, picture of the current and future data center footprint in Virginia built on credible sources.
MAP: Initial Transmission Proposals
Transmission line proposals to serve the explosive growth of data centers in Virginia over the past few years have begun to roll in. PEC has published this online web map to make it easier to view the proposals in one place.
VIDEO: Hidden Costs of the Cloud
Piedmont Environmental Council provides an overview of Virginia's massive economic, technological, and environmental transformation, all centered around the activities of one industry: data centers.
