The Piedmont News is an email digest of top news stories about conservation, land use, energy, and environmental matters of interest to the region. We hope you’ll share The Piedmont News with someone else who cares about these stories.
Inside Climate News
(May 1, 2025)
"Tyler Ray and his husband were drawn to their community, Bren Pointe, by the amenities that make Fairfax County such a desirable place to live in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Northern Virginia. It’s close to shopping, dining and entertainment in Old Town and not far from Reagan National Airport. Soon, though, the neighborhood could be home to a warehouse-like data center at 500 Centre Plaza, a five-acre substation 60 feet from Bren Pointe’s boundary on the other side of Turkeycock Run."
CNBC
(May 1, 2025)
"Data center demand is not slowing down in the world’s largest market centered in northern Virginia, executives at Dominion Energy said Thursday. Dominion provides electricity in Loudoun County, nicknamed “Data Center Alley” because it hosts the largest cluster of data centers in the world. The utility works closely with the Big Tech companies that are investing tens of billions of dollars in data centers as they train artificial intelligence models."
Information Charlottesville
(April 30, 2025)
"Albemarle is in the early stages of planning for a 24-mile long shared use pathway between Charlottesville to the Blue Ridge Tunnel. This morning the county announced the community kickoff meeting for the Three Notched Trail master plan will be held May 15 at Crozet Elementary School."
Rappahannock News
(April 30, 2025)
"The annual gathering of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) will be held on Sunday, June 8 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the 7,100 acre Eldon Farms, 4432 Sperryville Pike, Woodville. Renowned landscape architect Thomas Woltz will give a keynote address on the Eldon project as an example of sustainable landscape design that balances ecological health and productive agriculture. The program will be followed by lunch and four afternoon workshop sessions exploring different aspects of conservation work in the region. For more information, visit pecva.org/eldonfarms."
Cardinal News
(April 29, 2025)
"State regulators have scheduled a hearing in September so the public can comment on Dominion Energy’s proposed rate increase. The hearing will be held at noon Sept. 2 and will be streamed online. Anyone who wants to comment during it must sign up by 5 p.m. Aug. 26 by completing a State Corporation Commission public witness form for case number PUR-2025-00058 or by calling the SCC at 804-371-9141 between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays."
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(April 28, 2025)
"Starting in May, Dominion Energy will host a series of community meetings with residents of Loudoun, Fauquier and Prince William counties to discuss a new 36-mile transmission line project that would run through all three counties. The Morrisville to Wishing Star project involves installing a new 500 kV transmission line along or near 36.5 miles of existing right-of-way. A new 230 kV transmission line would be added in Fauquier County, along with the expansion of the Morrisville Substation."
Fauquier Now
(April 29, 2025)
"One of Gold Cup’s most famous and unique races is being named after the guy who built the course. On Saturday, during the 100th running of the Virginia Gold Cup, the first 'Arthur W. Arundel Memorial Steeplethon' will be held -- the one race that’s not a traditional hurdle and timber race but sometimes described as 'kind of like fox hunting meets cross-country eventing.'"
This article features Arthur 'Nick' Arundel who cofounded The Piedmont Environmental Council in 1972 and served as PEC's president from 1975 - 1988.
C-VILLE Weekly
(April 30, 2025)
"The new development code came after adoption of an affordable housing plan that laid out many steps to mitigate the effects additional density might have on property costs. One tool would be the creation of a new entity that would purchase land on behalf of other groups to construct new units."
Information Charlottesville
(April 26, 2025)
"The Board of Directors of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority learned on April 22 that the organization will have to find other funding for some projects."
Information Charlottesville
(April 26, 2025)
"In 2019, UVA formally established a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel free by 2050. Earlier this month, UVA Sustainability announced eleven recipients for an annual leadership award."
Information Charlottesville
(April 25, 2025)
"Nearly fifty months have passed since Charlottesville City Council adopted a plan that set out several ways in which the city could increase the number of housing units whose monthly rent or sales price is within reach of people with incomes below the area median."
The Daily Progress
(April 25, 2025)
"There was the slightest hesitation and a few inquires, but ultimately the decision was made: Charlottesville is ready to officially declare itself a nature-loving city. City Council passed a resolution Monday that puts Charlottesville a few steps shy of joining a global network of 'biophilic cities' which place a high premium on nature preservation in urban design."
C-VILLE Weekly
(April 25, 2025)
"One of the areas Albemarle Board of Supervisors has identified for industrial development is along Broadway Street in a land-locked section of the county only accessible via roads through Charlottesville. The future happens one application at a time and the Board will soon consider whether it wants to allow the owners of a project called the Woolen Mills Industrial Park to fill in a portion of a seven-acre property on Franklin Street."
The Winchester Star
(May 1, 2025)
"Millwood residents told Clarke County officials Monday night they want to feel a stronger sense of community while preserving their rural tranquility. They're hindered in getting to know other villagers by hardships in getting around, either by car or on foot, they said during a public meeting at the Boyce Volunteer Fire Company Social Hall."
The Winchester Star
(April 28, 2025)
"The White Post Village Association (WPVA) has launched an effort to preserve a historic structure in this unincorporated Clarke County village. The deteriorating building is located near the old Sinclair gas station at the intersection of Berrys Ferry and White Post roads. The empty gas station was refurbished a few years ago by the WPVA. It's near the historic white post, in the middle of the crossroads, that gives the village its name."
The Winchester Star
(April 25, 2025)
"Blandy Experimental Farm’s community forest began as just a cluster of saplings, mere sticks poking above the ground. But now, as it continues to expand, the oldest portions of the 15-year-old project look like a true forest, with hundreds of oak, persimmon, redbud, pine and hazelnut trees rising from a grassy field."
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(May 2, 2025)
"Spring is in full bloom as the Culpeper Downtown Farmers Market returns this Saturday, May 3. Look forward to browsing more local vendors than ever at the longest running and most successful Farmers Market in the area, according to market organizer Culpeper Renaissance Inc."
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(April 29, 2025)
"A low-income housing project is progressing beyond a bit of a rocky start as local officials continue to work to increase affordable options in Culpeper. A nearly $1 million affordable housing grant through an Atlanta banking partner has provided gap funding for the three-building, 60-unit Lightfoot Apartments following unanticipated construction costs."
Culpeper Times
(April 28, 2025)
"It's that time of year! The Culpeper Downtown Farmers Market returns Saturday, May 3. With its roots dating back to the 1950s, the Culpeper Farmers Market was started by Raymond Kite at the agricultural enterprise; however, by the early 90’s, the Market made its way to downtown. Now in 2025, the Culpeper Downtown Farmers Market continues to grow each and every season, serving as a mainstay of Saturday morning commerce and community activity."
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(April 25, 2025)
"Town of Culpeper residential power customers can expect to pay $10 more per month to keep the lights on in the coming months, per a pair of back-to-back slated increases from the town and Dominion."
Fauquier Now
(April 29, 2025)
"One of Gold Cup’s most famous and unique races is being named after the guy who built the course. On Saturday, during the 100th running of the Virginia Gold Cup, the first 'Arthur W. Arundel Memorial Steeplethon' will be held -- the one race that’s not a traditional hurdle and timber race but sometimes described as 'kind of like fox hunting meets cross-country eventing.'"
This article features Arthur 'Nick' Arundel who cofounded The Piedmont Environmental Council in 1972 and served as PEC's president from 1975 - 1988.
Fauquier Times
(April 28, 2025)
"Over the past few weeks, the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors cleared the way for new battery storage facilities, while the county planning commission advanced proposals for a new self-storage facility in Vint Hill and a new trade school at the former New Baltimore Fire Hall. The county planning commission is also considering an expansion of the Bridge Community Church, while the Town of Warrenton Planning Commission is considering a ban on any new data centers in the town."
Fauquier Now
(April 28, 2025)
"Warrenton town staff have launched a trial run on Main Street to test a sidewalk café design concept that could expand pedestrian and outdoor dining areas by converting former parking spaces. The trial area, located between Culpeper and Second streets, features newly milled and paved sections where parking spaces once lined the sidewalk. Under the proposed sidewalk café model, businesses could establish open-air seating on public sidewalks adjacent to their storefronts, with widened sidewalks pushing pedestrian walkways farther into the street."
Fauquier Times
(April 24, 2025)
"Three judges settled a decades-long debate over whether to expand Warrenton town limits through the annexation of about 240 acres that were previously home to Alwington farms. The panel, convened by the Virginia Supreme Court, approved an agreement between the Town of Warrenton and Fauquier County for the town to annex the land – and the development planned for the site."
Loudoun Now
(May 2, 2025)
"The final touch on the years-long effort to preserve and restore the Pratt truss bridge over Catoctin Creek was celebrated Friday with the unveiling of a historical marker highlighting its significance."
Loudoun Now
(April 30, 2025)
"As county leaders work to revise the zoning standards for western and rural Loudoun, a balancing challenge has emerged – one with a common goal to preserve western Loudoun – but with differing pathways to get there. Those differences were brought to the surface during the third stakeholder meeting hosted by the Board of Supervisors’ Transportation and Land Use Committee on the zoning amendment process last week."
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(April 30, 2025)
"County officials want to remove part of the planned Gloucester Parkway Extension from the Countywide Transportation Plan after a study found there would be no significant improvement in traffic if the road were completed."
Loudoun Now
(April 29, 2025)
"In the middle of last week’s packed Purcellville Town Council meeting, resident and former county supervisor, Tony Buffington proposed what he says is a possible solution to the town’s utility problems – a collaboration with Loudoun Water."
WTOP News
(April 28, 2025)
"The spring Loudoun Farm Tour is May 17 and 18, with 36 western Loudoun County, Virginia, farms participating this year. Loudoun Economic Development sponsors the farm tours twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall — to showcase Loudoun’s diverse agricultural community. The self-guided tour is free, and visitors can go to as many of the participating farms as they want."
Loudoun Now
(April 28, 2025)
"Local leaders have a new map of options to fill in the missing links of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in western Loudoun County. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission has published the findings of a year-long feasibility study examining ways to extend the trail from its current terminus at Balls Buff Battlefield Park in Leesburg to Harpers Ferry."
Data Center Dynamics
(April 25, 2025)
"As far as DCD is aware, this will be the first time a single AWS cloud region has crossed state borders in the US – though the new zone will not be far away from the company’s existing data centers on the south side of the Potomac River."
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(April 25, 2025)
"At a recent meeting to discuss zoning issues in Western Loudoun County, a cohort of farmers, county supervisors, county staff and planning commissioners decided that 'agritourism' and 'agritainment' should be combined into one definition in the county's zoning ordinance."
The Piedmont Journal Recorder
(May 1, 2025)
"Orange County Board of Supervisors (BOS) had a full plate Tuesday, April 22. With a joint work session with planning commissioners discussing proposed zoning ordinance changes and two public hearings, supervisors covered a lot of territory before moving to closed session."
Rappahannock News
(April 30, 2025)
"Waterpenny Farm is hosting the 24th annual Rappahannock Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, May 3 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at 53 Waterpenny Lane, Sperryville (off Route 211). A community tradition, the sale is a source for locally grown plants from groundcover to trees. In addition to Waterpenny Farm, the sale includes such nurseries as Blue Ridge Botanicals, Eastwoods Nursery, Hill House Nursery and Stallard Road Farm & Botanicals."
Prince William Times
(May 2, 2025)
"The road sign says Colonial Port, but at the moment, the Dumfries waterfront is completely hidden behind a chain-link fence, a gravel industrial lot and a dense thicket of shrubs and trees. But that could change in a few years. Dumfries Town Council, led by Mayor Derrick Wood, has a vision for the port’s next chapter."
Prince William Times
(April 25, 2025)
"In November, she was elected mayor of her adopted hometown, running unopposed. At the start of a two-year term in the city’s top elected post, Pater said she plans to focus on 'positive growth' for Haymarket by bringing in new businesses, attracting more visitors and developing a more walkable town."
InsideNoVa
(April 24, 2025)
"The Prince William County Planning Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to advance a proposed rezoning for the Manassas Mall, a project that promises to hold major implications for the county and local transit moving forward. The proposal would rezone just over 60 acres from B-1, general business, to MXD-U, urban mixed use district, with a T-6 transect – specifically for high-density development – to allow for 1,041 multi-family residential units and over 47,000 square feet of commercial buildings."
Washington Business Journal
(April 30, 2025)
"The D.C. Council is considering legislation that would pave the way for a building code amendment allowing a single entrance/exit and stairway for multifamily residences up to six stories. To facilitate evacuations, most building codes, including those in D.C., have long required two stairwells and two exits in multifamily buildings. Those codes were drafted at a time when building and firefighting technology was less advanced, according to a legislative memorandum accompanying the bill, introduced by Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, D-Ward 1. Adopting the change, proponents say, would facilitate housing production, density and developer profitability."
Loudoun Now
(April 28, 2025)
"Local leaders have a new map of options to fill in the missing links of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in western Loudoun County. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission has published the findings of a year-long feasibility study examining ways to extend the trail from its current terminus at Balls Buff Battlefield Park in Leesburg to Harpers Ferry."
ARL Now
(April 24, 2025)
"A draft Bus Rapid Transit Action Plan, unveiled yesterday (Wednesday) is meant to guide agencies throughout the region as they consider future transit investments. A proposed map of possible BRT lines envisions two routes connecting Columbia Pike to Crystal City and D.C., and another route running east from Falls Church into Rosslyn, across the Potomac River and into Georgetown."
The Northern Virginia Daily
(April 30, 2025)
"A half-century-old highway battle is resurfacing at the West Virginia–Virginia border, as the Mountain State moves to extend Corridor H to the state line, creating pressure for Virginia to respond. Local officials, conservationists and residents are warning that a major influx of truck traffic, environmental damage and potential economic disruption could follow — even if Virginia refuses to extend the highway."
Daily News-Record
(April 29, 2025)
"Rockingham County’s Board of Supervisors turned down a request for a special use permit that would have allowed a battery facility to be built in the 300 block of Hulings Lane in Timberville, following the requests of several county residents who spoke against it at the meeting."
Fredericksburg Free Press
(April 30, 2025)
"J.W. Swain doesn’t want data centers to be his neighbor in southeastern Stafford County. That portion of the Route 3 corridor is a bucolic area, he said at a town hall meeting Tuesday night, the kind of place where you see eagles and geese. 'That is the last piece of green left in the county,' Swain said. And he implored county supervisors not to approve a proposed data center campus that would be less than a quarter-mile from where he lives."
The Baltimore Banner
(April 30, 2025)
"The state is in an energy crisis as its dependency on out-of-state power grows. Just as energy bills have become somewhat more digestible thanks to the change in seasons, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel is warning that electric utility customers could soon be on the hook for $800 million in transmission upgrades to power Northern Virginia data centers."
Bay Journal
(April 28, 2025)
"The Druid Heights CDC isn’t a traditional conservation group, but it frequently partners with its environmental counterparts to expand the neighborhood’s green inventory. What’s happening in this corner of West Baltimore is a microcosm of the shift taking place in land conservation across the Chesapeake Bay watershed and beyond."
The Daily Progress
(April 26, 2025)
"A new 30-year master plan for Lake Anna State Park calls for an expanded beach, upgraded campsites and a push to remind visitors of the park’s gold mining heritage. In all, the plan, which the state Board of Conservation and Recreation approved Thursday, calls for $49 million of improvements at the popular park — so popular, in fact, that it sometimes has to turn visitors away while park officials have been mulling proposals for a reservation system requiring people to book a daytime visit in advance."
Data Center Dynamics
(April 25, 2025)
"As far as DCD is aware, this will be the first time a single AWS cloud region has crossed state borders in the US – though the new zone will not be far away from the company’s existing data centers on the south side of the Potomac River."
Cardinal News
(May 1, 2025)
"Danville plans to add a second battery energy storage system to its municipal utility portfolio, which officials say will save customers tens of millions of dollars over the next two decades. The battery systems store electricity during periods of lower demand and release it during periods of higher demand. This reduces the utility’s dependence on the electric grid during the periods of highest electricity demand and can help it mitigate certain demand-related costs, a practice known as 'peak shaving.'"
VPM
(May 1, 2025)
"Public comment on the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate extension, which was once denied a key permit in Virginia, is underway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released public notices on the project Wednesday. The extension would run 31 miles from the main pipeline’s terminus near Chatham, Virginia, to Rockingham County, North Carolina."
The Mecklenburg Sun
(April 30, 2025)
"The proposed 90-megawatt Antlers Road Solar project ran into a firm 'no' from the Mecklenburg County Planning Commission on Thursday as planners rejected the developer’s slimmed-down plans for a second time."
Bay Journal
(April 30, 2025)
"The glass of water that Jennifer Campagne draws from her kitchen faucet looks clear and clean. But ever since she had her household well tested and found 'forever chemicals' in it, she’s leery of using it, even to make coffee."
Bay Journal
(April 30, 2025)
"In response to increasing energy demand because of extreme weather and the rapid growth of data centers, Dominion Energy plans to build a natural gas plant in Chesterfield, VA. But the nearby community, which was home to a coal plant for almost 80 years and currently lives near two existing gas plants, has resisted the project for months, citing concerns about air quality."
Virginia Mercury
(April 30, 2025)
"To weigh the costs and benefits of data centers and to set the ground rules for any potential data-center development, local governments should empower members of the public with all relevant information to foster a meaningful debate. We fear, however, that the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and a larger ethic of secrecy regarding data-center development curtails this discussion and, in so doing, impairs local democracy."
The Daily Progress
(April 30, 2025)
"Dominion Energy expects a more-than-10-fold increase in the number of electric vehicles registered in its Virginia and small northeastern North Carolina territories. The electric monopoly serving most Virginians told the State Corporation Commission it expects to be supplying power to 750,000 EVs by 2030, up from 66,000 as of June 30 of last year."
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(April 29, 2025)
"Dominion Energy wants to build new seven-miles-long high voltage lines in western Chesterfield County in large part to serve a planned hyperscale data center, using four times the electricity the region’s biggest data center campus now needs. The utility expects that the lines, along with the substations and safety equipment needed to direct the right voltages to the right places, will cost about $121 million, it said in a filing with the State Corporation Commission."
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(April 29, 2025)
"Dominion Energy wants to build new seven-miles-long high voltage lines in western Chesterfield County in large part to serve a planned hyperscale data center, using four times the electricity the region’s biggest data center campus now needs. The utility expects that the lines, along with the substations and safety equipment needed to direct the right voltages to the right places, will cost about $121 million, it said in a filing with the State Corporation Commission."
WHRO
(April 28, 2025)
"Gov. Glenn Youngkin sang the praises of international business cooperation Monday as officials broke ground on a massive undersea cable manufacturing factory in Chesapeake. The project from a South Korean cable company will eventually serve national and global wind energy projects and represents the largest investment in the city’s history. But despite the rosy outlook from officials, a cloud of uncertainty swirled."
Cardinal News
(April 28, 2025)
"Russell County officials are considering the county’s first three commercial solar energy developments, eight years after leaders there began working to position the locality to attract the projects. The projects, which would together produce up to 22 megawatts of power and cover a total of about 230 acres, would be developed on depleted farmland, one near the Russell County-Tazewell County line and the other two on rural sites outside the town of Lebanon."
Cardinal News
(April 28, 2025)
"Russell County officials are considering the county’s first three commercial solar energy developments, eight years after leaders there began working to position the locality to attract the projects. The projects, which would together produce up to 22 megawatts of power and cover a total of about 230 acres, would be developed on depleted farmland, one near the Russell County-Tazewell County line and the other two on rural sites outside the town of Lebanon."
Virginia Mercury
(April 25, 2025)
"The proposals reflect a growing consensus that ordinary residents should not be forced to bear the cost of building new infrastructure needed only because of data centers. Moreover, if data centers close up shop before the costs of the new infrastructure are fully paid for, residents should not get stuck paying off these now-stranded assets... It’s not immediately clear how much setting up a new rate class for data centers will change that outcome."
Cardinal News
(April 25, 2025)
"For the many advocates of expanded rail service to the New River Valley, it was a moment some had longed to see ever since the last passenger train headed out of town limits more than four decades ago."
Virginia Mercury
(April 21, 2025)
"Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation has just released their draft six- year improvement program for fiscal year 2026, totaling roughly $7 billion. The funds cover both operational costs and larger sums for capital improvement projects statewide."
The Washington Post
(May 1, 2025)
"The Senate voted Thursday to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting the seven most hazardous air pollutants emitted by chemical plants, oil refineries and other industrial facilities, reversing one of President Joe Biden’s major environmental regulations."
The Washington Post
(April 30, 2025)
"Hundreds of authors contributing to the National Climate Assessment — a report documenting climate change in the United States that has been published every four to five years since 2000 — will pause work on the next report, which was planned for release by 2028. It could be delayed, or written in a way that downplays climate change, or not done at all, climate experts said."
The Washington Post
(April 30, 2025)
"The Environmental Protection Agency plans to cancel a total of 781 grants issued under President Joe Biden, EPA lawyers wrote in a little-noticed court filing last week, almost twice the number previously reported."
AP News
(April 29, 2025)
"Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. In a decision with consequences for tens of millions of Americans, the Trump administration is expected to soon say whether it intends to stand by those strict standards and defend the limits against a water utility industry challenge in federal court."
Wired
(April 26, 2025)
"The tricky thing about generating electricity is that for the most part, you pretty much have to use it or lose it... But what if you could just hold onto electricity for a bit and save it for later?"
Canary Media
(April 25, 2025)
"Now, it’s becoming clear how those departures could reshape the Department of Energy. More than 3,500 employees — about a fifth of the department — are expected to leave in the near future, E&E News reported this week."
Business Insider
(April 25, 2025)
"In Louisiana, a battle is heating up over who will pay for the new power plants needed to serve the $10 billion data center Meta is building in the state's northeastern corner... Consumer advocates and climate groups filed new testimony with the Louisiana Public Service Commission on April 11, pushing the state regulator to reject a request by Meta's electricity provider to shift $5 billion in construction costs for the plants on its entire customer base."
CNBC
(April 24, 2025)
"Amazon and Nvidia executives said Thursday that the construction of artificial intelligence data centers is not slowing down, as recession fears have some investors questioning whether tech companies will pull back on some of their plans."
Time
(April 22, 2025)
"Even the most advanced datacenters currently under construction—including OpenAI’s Stargate project—are likely vulnerable to the same attacks, the authors tell TIME. 'You could end up with dozens of datacenter sites that are essentially stranded assets that can’t be retrofitted for the level of security that’s required,' says Edouard Harris, one of the authors of the report. 'That’s just a brutal gut-punch.'"
Canary Media
(May 2, 2025)
"More than 90% of the new energy capacity built worldwide last year was clean, per data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). That’s a new high watermark for solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources."
The Washington Post
(April 30, 2025)
"A satellite with a 40-foot extendable antenna has launched into space with a giant mission: to map all of the world’s forests — ecosystems that are crucial for absorbing carbon and slowing climate change. The Biomass mission will paint a detailed global picture of Earth’s forests, the European Space Agency said, peeking beneath their canopies to reveal where they are thickest and how that is changing — including as a result of climate change and deforestation."
Fierce Network
(April 22, 2025)
"A biblical tsunami of energy demand is sweeping across the globe and energy providers are fighting to keep their heads above water. We’ve already noted that hyperscalers are poised to spend more than $315 billion on data center expansions, with more than 500 facilities in the known pipeline by Synergy Research Group’s tally. But we even as this project tide rises, energy providers are still scrambling to build boats."
