Press Release: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Should Not Loosen Rules on Data Center Use of Diesel Generators
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has proposed a major change that would allow data centers to run polluting Tier II backup diesel generators during planned outage events, such as during construction projects and …
Dominion Energy’s Proposed Changes to “Net Metering” Would Undercut Small-Scale Solar
In May 2025, Dominion Energy petitioned the State Corporation Commission to cut the net metering credit by nearly half. Unfortunately, this proposed change will severely undermine the practicality of rooftop solar and critically hamper increased distributed energy generation and …
Deconstruction and documentation of former Gilberts Corner gas station building to begin Dec. 2
After nearly three years of careful evaluation, The Piedmont Environmental Council has made the difficult but necessary decision to carefully deconstruct the 1927 Gilberts gas station structure at the Gilberts Corner Farmers Market, located at …
Orange County Proposes New “Technology” Zoning District
The Orange County Planning Commission is poised to recommend a draft ordinance establishing a Technology zoning district intended to accommodate – and minimize the adverse impacts of – data centers. The county is considering many of …
Press Release: Piedmont Environmental Council Reacts to SCC Decisions in the Biennial Rate Case
The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) just announced its decision in the historic rate-setting case for Dominion Energy. “While this decision recognizes that data center demand is driving future expenditures – and grants Dominion’s request …
Press Release: PEC Announces 2025 Photo Contest Winners
The Piedmont Environmental Council is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 Annual Photo Contest …
Additional Transmission Lines Proposed to Serve Data Centers
There is another opportunity right now to share your input on an important issue impacting our region. We hope you will take a few minutes before Monday, Dec. 8 to voice your concerns and opinions …
2025 Impact Report
Thank you for taking a moment to read about PEC’s achievements across our region and throughout our programs this year. We could not do this work without your support and your commitment, so thank you …
A Tale of Two Bridges
Last week, we welcomed a long-awaited pedestrian bridge over U.S. Route 29! On the other side of town, however, VDOT unveiled a new proposal for the planned Fifth Street bridge over Interstate 64 that would not include …
Proposed Increase to Data Center Diesel Generator Use
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently accepting comments on a proposed change that would allow data centers to run backup diesel generators during planned outage events. Until now, these generators could only …
