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.
The Wall Street Journal
(April 2, 2026)
Maine is poised to freeze large data-center construction, which would make it the first state to enact such a measure as communities across the U.S. grapple with fallout from the boom in artificial intelligence.
Fauquier Now
(April 1, 2026)
Wildlife officials say Virginia's black bears are emerging from their winter dens hungry – and trash cans and bird feeders are easy targets for a quick meal. "During this time of increased activity, it is important for Virginia residents to be 'BearWise' and secure all potential food sources to reduce human-bear conflicts in their neighborhoods and near their homes," the Virginia Department of Wildlife said in a news release.
Fauquier Times
(April 1, 2026)
Virginians’ power bills have increased 14.5% since 2022 and doubled in 25 years. But Dominion Energy customers scrutinizing their bills to understand why are likely confused. They see only part of the picture. Apower bill shows how much energy a customer used and cost per kilowatt-hour used to pay for the cost of generation, transmission and fuel for the generators. But the bill does not show charges for numerous power and clean-energy projects. Known as rate adjustment clauses, or “riders,” these are the fastest growing part of the bill.
This is part of an on-going series of stories by Fauquier Times exploring the repercussions of data centers for our region.
WTOP News
(March 31, 2026)
The Potomac River basin is home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, which could contribute to a shortage of drinking water from the Potomac — the primary, and in some cases, sole source of potable water near the nation’s capital.
CNN
(March 30, 2026)
The vast data centers that power artificial intelligence guzzle huge amounts of energy but they also have another alarming impact, according to new research. They are creating “heat islands,” warming the land around them by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit, and making life hotter for more than 340 million people.
Loudoun Now
(March 28, 2026)
While the prospect of making it a state park is still unclear, the preservation of the 1,200-acre Oak Hill estate was celebrated this week with an environmental excellence award. The Conservation Fund, which acquired the Loudoun County home of President James Monroe last year, was named a gold medal winner in the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards.
Fauquier Times
(April 2, 2026)
The Piedmont Environmental Council is working to make it easy to replicate production of agricultural products and solar energy on the same land, according to a news release. In October, the organization unveiled Virginia’s first installation of solar panels combined with row crops on its community farm in Aldie. The combined practice is known as agrivoltaics. Common examples include solar grazing, where livestock graze land on which solar panels have been placed.
This article highlights PEC's crop-based agrivoltaics project and leadership in agrivoltaics and distributed energy generation. Learn about our April 22 hands-on Solar in the Ag Community workshop designed specifically for farmers, agricultural producers, and landowners interested in exploring ways to incorporate small-scale solar and battery backup into their operation.
Cardinal News
(March 31, 2026)
On a map of the urbanized eastern U.S., the Blue Ridge Parkway is a sliver of tulip poplars, rhododendrons, deer, mountain streams, fresh air and another natural resource under pressure: dark skies. The nonprofit Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is partnering with universities to conduct a comprehensive light pollution survey from the parkway’s northern gate at Rockfish Gap to its southern terminus near Cherokee, N.C.
The Winchester Star
(March 31, 2026)
The Clarke County Board of Supervisors has approved zoning and subdivision ordinances changes stemming from state legislation enacted last year. Ultimately, the changes take some control away from local governing panels — which can seek public input into decisions — and put it into the hands of one person.
The Winchester Star
(March 25, 2026)
It will be several more months before Berryville officials decide whether a subdivision with more than 100 new homes can be developed. Last week, the Planning Commission postponed considering an associated rezoning request until its May 26 meeting. That will give officials time to fix a problem they recently discovered with the wording of a zoning ordinance section that applies to the request.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(April 2, 2026)
Last fall, Dallas-based DataBank started site work on a pair of “hyperscale ready” data centers at the corner of Virginia 3 and James Madison Highway. The multi-story frame of building one is now materializing, visible along Virginia 3. The two-building project will span 1.4 million square feet of computer servers. DataBank is among the first of six projects approved in the last several years to begin construction in the county’s Culpeper Technology Zone.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(April 2, 2026)
A wildly popular prehistoric program, Culpeper County's DinoWalk is back for another exciting two-day experience in a local quarry. Tickets for this year's DinoWalk go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. this Saturday and will sell out quickly. A major fundraiser for the Museum of Culpeper History, this year's DinoWalk will be held on Friday, May 1 and Saturday May 2,
InsideNoVa
(April 1, 2026)
The Culpeper Chamber of Commerce has named Oak Shade Farm as its 2026 Agribusiness of the Year. Oak Shade Farm, located in northern Culpeper, was founded by Jim and Sally Mello. The couple planted their first pine seedlings in 1977 and built a log home on the property in 1985. The farm has since expanded to include multiple family members across three neighboring properties.
Culpeper Times
(March 30, 2026)
With spring’s arrival, Virginia bluebells are soon to bloom, offering residents and visitors a fleeting but colorful spectacle of the region’s signature wildflower. The Piedmont region, where Culpeper is located, is part of their natural range. Blooming typically occurs from late March through mid-April.
Loudoun Now
(April 2, 2026)
Purcellville residents are looking to organize opposition to a proposed flex industrial development through coordinated email campaigns, signs, social media posts, and turnout at an upcoming April 15 public hearing on the plan. JK Land Holdings CEO Chuck Kuhn approached the Purcellville Town Council in 2024 about annexing the property into town, but that was rejected by a vote in January 2025. Kuhn has since proceeded with a rezoning request that received support from the Planning Commission in February.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(April 2, 2026)
The Town of Leesburg's water quality was in good shape in 2025, according to a town report released April 1. Leesburg's drinking water was "well within" all state and federal regulations last year, meeting standards for contaminants, the report said. The town’s water treatment plant earned the Virginia Department of Health’s Excellence in Waterworks, Operations/Performance Award for the 22nd year in a row this March.
Loudoun Now
(April 1, 2026)
A data center planned just north of Dulles Airport could be expanding from 14,386 square feet to 20,000 square feet after the county Planning Commission endorsed the proposal. County staff members said that, while data centers in this area are not consistent with the board’s most recent zoning changes pertaining to data centers, they are compatible with surrounding uses.
Loudoun Now
(April 1, 2026)
A proposal that would have added 80 news homes in Lovettsville was rejected by the Lovettsville Town Council last week. The application, submitted by Elm Street Acquisitions, requests a Comprehensive Plan amendment that would change permitted uses on a 35-acre tract from commercial and light industrial to low density residential.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(March 31, 2026)
The village of Unison is home to gravel roads and buildings constructed before the Civil War. It’s small, rural and historic, and its residents want to keep it that way.
Led by a local nonprofit, they’re taking steps to establish a county-level historic district to preserve Unison’s character and prevent major development.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(March 29, 2026)
Construction work on Purcellville’s new Route 7 and Route 690 interchange along Hillsboro Road has begun, according to a release from Loudoun County government.
Work includes staking out the construction site limits, installing traffic signage, implementing erosion and sediment control measures, and staging construction equipment will take place.
National Today
(March 29, 2026)
Residents of Loudoun County, Virginia are raising concerns about the rapid expansion of data centers in their once-lovely residential areas. They argue the large data center buildings are overwhelming local neighborhoods and parks, while also using significant amounts of power and water. The editorial board is urged to visit the area to see the issues firsthand.
Loudoun Now
(March 26, 2026)
Community members in Leesburg on Tuesday gathered at the site of the proposed Westpark Disc Golf Course to see demonstrations of and play the sport intended as an accessible public amenity. In August 2022, Loudoun County purchased 134 acres of the former Westpark Golf Course that is located along Country Club Drive in Leesburg. Since the announcement of the Westpark Improvements project, residents of bordering neighborhoods have voiced concerns that the additional amenities will cause problems.
NBC Washington
(March 26, 2026)
In Virginia horse country, trainers and owners are concerned about the pending sale of the Middleburg Training Center to the U.S. Army for its caisson horses. Well-known businessman Chuck Kuhn, who operates one of the nation’s biggest independent moving companies, bought the property in 2017 and invested millions in improvements. He put it in a conservation easement but said he always intended to sell it someday.
Byrd Street
(March 29, 2026)
The mood at Orange County High School before the March 24 joint meeting of the county’s supervisors and planning commissioners was tense with bottled-up frustration and anger. About 500 people, most of them local citizens upset about a proposed 115-mile, 765-kilowatt transmission line that would snake through nine counties, including Orange, were there to hear county leaders grill representatives from Dominion Energy, one of three utility partners behind the project.
Rappahannock News
(April 1, 2026)
The Rappahannock County Farmers’ Market opens its season Saturday, April 4 from 9 a.m.-noon on the Sperryville Schoolhouse lawn, 12018 Lee Highway, Sperryville, and continues through Nov. 21, every Saturday rain or shine.
Rappahannock News
(April 1, 2026)
Local artists are invited to participate in a special program celebrating Rappahannock's starry night skies on Monday, April 20, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Rappahannock County Public Library, 4 Library Road, Washington.
Rappahannock News
(March 30, 2026)
This is an open letter to FirstEnergy in response to its March 5 letter to the editor. Thank you for your March 5 letter to the Rappahannock News regarding the Page–Sperryville Transmission Line Rebuild Project. We appreciate your call for transparency and collaboration. To date, they have been notably absent from FirstEnergy’s engagement with our community.
Rappahannock News
(March 26, 2026)
Local and state leaders gathered Wednesday to mark the opening of Lightfoot Apartments, a new affordable housing development in Culpeper. The 60-unit community, developed by People Inc. of Virginia, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 25. Located near Lightfoot Street and Old Fredericksburg Road, the complex includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units designed for households earning at or below 60% of the area median income.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(April 2, 2026)
Former Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, remembers being "the lone wolf" in opposing a lucrative state tax exemption for the data center industry in the Virginia Senate. But this week, the former senator sees his longtime adversary in retreat after the Virginia Court of Appeals threw out the Prince William rezoning approval for the construction of 37 data centers covering more than 22 million square feet.
Data Center Dynamics
(April 2, 2026)
The Prince William Digital Gateway data center campus has suffered another setback after a Virginia court again blocked the project.
The Virginia Court of Appeals blocked construction of the proposed campus after ruling that the county had moved forward without proper public notice. The decision holds up a previous court ruling against the project.
This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council President Chris Miller.
Fauquier Now
(March 31, 2026)
A three-judge Virginia Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday ruled in favor of the Oak Valley Homeowners Association and the American Battlefield Trust in a consolidated opinion uniting the two legal challenges against the controversial PW Digital Gateway data center project in western Prince William County.
Virginia Mercury
(March 31, 2026)
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed the first first batch of bills passed by state lawmakers before they adjourned in mid-March, advancing measures on health care, housing and energy affordability.
Cardinal News
(March 30, 2026)
An honest Chief Energy Officer would have to say what this administration is not positioned to say: the VCEA’s mandatory retirement of reliable generation on a fixed statutory timetable, against a backdrop of exploding data center demand, is structurally incompatible with affordable electricity.
WRIC
(March 29, 2026)
Four Goochland residents are taking the county’s board of supervisors and planning commission to court, alleging officials failed to lawfully and clearly explain their approved Technology Overlay District (TOD).
Cardinal News
(March 27, 2026)
Google says it hopes to break ground on its Botetourt County data center campus in the upcoming months. The company has filed construction permits and hopes to start grading work in the spring or summer...
News on the Neck
(March 25, 2026)
Following the Rappahannock Tribe’s legal challenge to a state-approved water withdrawal permit, the Tribe has launched a fundraising and coalition-building campaign seeking public support for what tribal leaders expect to be a long-term fight to protect the Rappahannock River.
Forbes
(March 30, 2026)
The digital economy is moving at a breakneck speed. Whether the unstoppable data center growth will be positive or not depends on data center companies moving ahead on a path that is the most sustainable, energy efficient, water resilient, and community supported.
Wired
(March 26, 2026)
In a joint letter sent to the Energy Information Administration Thursday morning, seen by WIRED, Hawley and Warren press the agency to publicly collect “comprehensive, annual energy-use disclosures” on data centers.
