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.
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The New York Times
(June 19, 2025)
A report last year from the Energy Department found AI could increase the portion of the nation’s electricity supply consumed by data centers from 4.4 percent to 12 percent by 2028.
Sensemaker The Observer
(June 18, 2025)
Artificial intelligence is changing our lives and our world at an astonishing pace, but its hunger for data is matched by its need for energy and water.
The Washington Post
(June 18, 2025)
The race for Virginia's attorney general became a proxy battle between Dominion, the state’s politically powerful utility company, and Clean Virginia, a millionaire-funded group that advocates for clean energy and seeks to counter Dominion’s hefty campaign contributions with large cash infusions of its own. Jay Jones’s victory delivered a clear message: Clean Virginia won this round.
Rappahannock News
(June 14, 2025)
The ambitious vision for the 7,100 acres of Eldon Farms in Woodville, unveiled last Sunday at the Piedmont Environmental Council’s (PEC) annual gathering, will see the farm transformed into a public-private reserve that will mix ecological restoration, education, recreation and advanced farming and grazing practices.
The Wilderness Society
(June 11, 2025)
The bill calls for disposal of nearly 2 million acres of public land with few restrictions, and allows the secretary of the interior great discretion to determine whether the sale of a given tract meets community needs.
Wired
(June 10, 2025)
A 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulation included in President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has brushed up against a mounting battle over the growth of data centers.
The Deep View
(May 24, 2025)
In the pursuit of more advanced AI capabilities, the environmental implications have become increasingly significant. Training OpenAI's GPT-4, for instance, consumed approximately 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity—equivalent to the annual energy consumption of about 4,600 average U.S. households.
WHRO
(June 17, 2025)
Chesapeake’s City Council received a rare standing ovation from a packed chamber Tuesday night after it voted unanimously to reject a proposed data center. Residents concerned about noise and environmental impacts flooded City Hall to speak against what would have been the first major data center in the region.
Coin Central
(June 15, 2025)
In a move to meet the soaring energy demands of its cloud computing and artificial intelligence operations, Amazon has inked a long-term deal with Talen Energy to draw nearly 2 gigawatts of electricity from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.
Non Profit Quarterly
(June 13, 2025)
Virginia-based Fundamental Data applied for a permit from West Virginia’s Division of Air Quality related to the construction of a standalone natural gas-fired power plant, which would be situated on 500 acres of land between the towns of Thomas and Davis in Tucker County, adjacent to the county landfill and approximately one mile from a public school.
C-VILLE Weekly
(June 11, 2025)
More than two years have passed since the Albemarle Board of Supervisors approved the biggest economic development project in county history, a $58 million purchase of more than 462 acres of land around the Rivanna Station military base for a project called Rivanna Futures.
The Winchester Star
(June 13, 2025)
Clarke County's Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on a proposal to establish a new light industrial zoning district for Double Tollgate. While plans were for the district to initially apply only to a portion of the former Camp 7 prison site off U.S. 340/522 (Stonewall Jackson Highway), the county recently purchased 40.6 acres of the 260-acre site from the Virginia Department of General Services with the intention of developing a new business park.
The Winchester Star
(June 10, 2025)
Starting Juy 1, new state legislation will change how Clarke County planners review subdivision plats and site development plans, shifting the duty from planning commissions and governing boards of localities with more than 5,000 residents to either an employee or another agent they designate.
Culpeper Times
(June 7, 2025)
Salubria, an 18th century Georgian-style house in Culpeper County, was home to many individuals and families, but also served as a witness to war, societal transformation and the development of Piedmont Virginia, according to Historic Germanna.
Fauquier Times
(June 16, 2025)
It’s been 20 years since The Plains updated its comprehensive plan – a policy guide for the growth and development of the northern Fauquier County town that is home to about 240 people. Now, local leaders have decided the plan will get a refresher this year.
Fauquier Times
(June 13, 2025)
Though no proposed data center projects fall within Remington town limits, town council officials are arguing this type of development “offers significant economic benefit and aligns with smart growth (principles) for both town and county residents.”
Loudoun Now
(June 16, 2025)
Three gravel roads in Loudoun were identified for paving during a joint Board of Supervisors and Virginia Department of Transportation public hearing last week, including Lenah Road south of Rt. 50, Gulick Mill Road south of Leesburg and Hogback Mountain Road off Rt. 15.
The Piedmont Journal Recorder
(June 17, 2025)
Revision of the Outdoor Lighting ordinance will be considered by the Rappahannock County Planning Commission this week. Ordinance revisions under consideration extend Dark Skies requirements from commercial and industrial to include residential uses.
Prince William Times
(June 19, 2025)
A lawsuit that could undo Prince William County’s approval of one of the largest data center developments in the world might end Friday if a judge dismisses the case as requested by lawyers representing the county and the two data center companies behind the Prince William Digital Gateway.
Prince William Times
(June 16, 2025)
Deshundra Jefferson, the chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, and the former chair, Corey Stewart, are at odds over a proposal to rezone land behind Four Seasons, one of the county’s largest over-55 communities, for as many as five large data centers.
The Northern Virginia Daily
(June 15, 2025)
The Warren County Planning Commissioners have endorsed proposed changes to agritourism regulations, including modifying agritourism activities as a land use permitted by right in the agricultural zoning district., as well as allowing, but only by conditional-use permit, “agritourism activities with a substantial impact on the health, safety or general welfare of the public.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(June 19, 2025)
The Chesterfield Planning Commission unanimously recommended against a rezoning case that proposed a data center in Chester. The development from Denver-based data center planning company Tract would be located on 744 acres at 16100 Branders Bridge Road.
The Winchester Star
(June 19, 2025)
The Frederick County Board of Supervisors rejected via a consensus vote the further study of two Comprehensive Plan amendment applications for potential data center facilities. One application was for a 644-acre data center campus south of Stephens City and the other was for a 105-acre data center development south of Winchester.
AP News
(June 18, 2025)
Archaeologists in Virginia have unearthed the foundation of a building from the 1700s that once supported the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, William & Mary announced Wednesday.
Daily Yonder
(June 17, 2025)
Inside the grassroots opposition that fended off a 2,200-acre data center campus in southern Virginia, and why their struggle isn’t over yet.
Virginia Mercury
(June 17, 2025)
A landowner in Louisa County is in disputes over how her land should be developed, reflecting an ongoing debate over the state’s role in solar energy development in rural areas, with local authorities wanting her land to stay agricultural use-only.
Fredericksburg Free Press
(June 16, 2025)
The Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s policy committee voted 9-1 on Monday night in favor of “Option C” for a new road and bridge over the Rappahannock River that would run from Celebrate Virginia Parkway in Stafford County, cross the river west of the quarry and connect with Gordon Shelton Boulevard in Fredericksburg from the west.
Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
(June 16, 2025)
St. Paul – a hamlet of 830 people in coal country - remade itself into a bustling spot for ecotourism and off-road trails with help from the The Nature Conservancy.
WTKR
(June 16, 2025)
Residents of Chesapeake rally to oppose the establishment of a data center in their community. The Chesapeake Planning Commission has already rejected the data center proposal, and now it rests in the hands of the City Council.
Engage Louise Newsletter
(June 15, 2025)
Louisa County residents oppose Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) proposal to build a third data center campus in the county’s Technology Overlay District (TOD). If approved by the board of supervisors, the campus would include up to 7.2 million square feet of data center buildings and seven substations on 1,370 agriculturally zoned (A-2) acres just north of the Northeast Creek Reservoir in central Louisa.
Virginia Outdoors Foundation
(June 13, 2025)
A gift from the Sacharuna Foundation, recorded in the Fauquier County Circuit Court Clerk’s land records on June 3rd, includes four newly acquired parcels to be integrated into the existing preserve, a 2,350-acre sanctuary owned and managed by VOF.
Virginia Mercury
(June 20, 2025)
Though data centers have brought business to Virginia, communities are seeing the impact of the electricity and water usage hit their utility bills, prompting localities to look at how to balance the opportunities and challenges data centers present and grappling with how to regulate them.
Gazette-Journal
(June 18, 2025)
From fresh produce to family traditions, Virginia’s farms offer plenty to celebrate. Virginia Agriculture Week (June 22-28) is a time to honor the people who provide our food and fiber. Organized by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the event aims to encourage consumers to support the state’s producers by buying Virginia-grown products and visiting local farms and agribusinesses.
The Daily Progress
(June 17, 2025)
Virginia has reported a dramatic spread in tick-borne illnesses in suburban neighborhoods. It's expected to get worse.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(June 15, 2025)
Dominion Energy and Clean Virginia have emerged as the principal combatants in a high-dollar race between former Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, and Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor for the party’s nomination to face Attorney General Jason Miyares in the general election in November.
Sierra Club
(June 15, 2025)
Construction of Dominion Energy’s 176-turbine project off the coast of Virginia Beach is nearly 60 percent complete, according to the company. When completed, the project is expected to generate enough energy to power roughly 660,000 homes, or 25 percent of Dominion’s residential customers in Virginia.
RTO Insider
(June 19, 2025)
Oregon governor signed a bill designed to ensure that operators of large data centers pay for grid upgrades needed to supply them with electricity while avoiding shifting those costs to residential ratepayers.
The Wall Street Journal
(June 19, 2025)
Democrats and clean energy advocates are ratcheting up pressure on a handful of Republican senators to salvage billions of dollars in projects, ahead of an expected vote next week on President Trump’s megabill that targets critical subsidies for elimination.
Construction Dive
(June 18, 2025)
Investment has poured into creating new massive data centers in 2025, with the sector accounting for more than 70% of the increase in private nonresidential construction spending between March 2024 and March 2025.
The Washington Post
(June 18, 2025)
Texas has seen more and more demand as its population booms and energy-heavy facilities such as data centers have proliferated.
The New York Times
(June 17, 2025)
The company, xAI, has installed several dozen turbines in Memphis without proper permits, the group said, polluting a nearby community.
The New York Times
(June 16, 2025)
A Senate tax package softened some blows imposed on renewables by a House version of the bill, but it still terminates many credits for clean power.
Data Center Knowledge
(June 13, 2025)
New data center campuses are being developed at a faster pace than the power plants needed to support them, according to NERC.
Power Magazine
(June 12, 2025)
Talen Energy has restructured and significantly expanded its nuclear energy agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), finalizing a 17-year, $18 billion power purchase agreement (PPA) that will supply up to 1,920 MW of carbon-free electricity from the 2.5-GW Susquehanna nuclear plant to Amazon’s data centers across Pennsylvania.
Chron News
(June 11, 2025)
Developers in Texas are set to build 130 new gas power plant projects in the next few years to meet the soaring demand for energy driven by the boom of artificial intelligence, data centers and extreme weather.
Open Circuit (Podcast)
(June 17, 2025)
The exponential growth of AI is colliding with the linear reality of building energy infrastructure — forcing a rethink of how tech companies power their ambitions. Is the corporate clean energy playbook becoming obsolete?
BBC
(June 7, 2025)
A team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore studied subsidence in and around 48 coastal cities in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, places that are particularly vulnerable to a combination of rising sea levels, which are mainly driven by climate change and sinking land.
