In September, I wrote to you about the explosive growth of Virginia’s data center industry and one of the side effects: a major push for new transmission lines.
Regional, State and National
PEC joins with partner organizations to promote thriving communities and healthy natural resources in the Shenandoah Valley, the central Piedmont, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground corridor and Northern Virginia counties.
Help choose our photo contest winners
Here are the 2023 PEC Photo Contest finalists. Take a look and vote for your favorites now!
Putting the Pieces Together on Digital Gateway
Since 2021, PEC has been supporting our partners’ heroic efforts to stop the largest data center campus in the world from being built on rural land next to Manassas National Battlefield Park, along Pageland Lane in Prince William County, Virginia.
The proposal, dubbed “Digital Gateway,” is massive and is projected to require around 3 gigawatts (GW) of energy. For context, that’s equivalent to the power used by 750,000 homes – roughly 5 times the number of households currently in Prince William County!
PEC Presentation on Energy Infrastructure and Data Centers (Upperville)
On Oct. 23, The Piedmont Environmental Council hosted a community meeting in Upperville, Va. on data centers and associated energy infrastructure.
2024 General Assembly: Building Bipartisan Support for Conservation
Updates on the conversations taking place in Richmond and a few of the ways PEC is working to support conservation efforts statewide.
Data Centers, Surging Power Demand Take Center Stage
The size, scale, and speed at which applications for data center projects are coming in and being approved is astounding.
Just this month, massive proposals moved forward in Culpeper, Louisa, and King George counties, with more being reviewed in Caroline and Stafford counties. Prince William, Loudoun, Fairfax, and Fauquier counties all have multiple active proposals for hyperscale data centers, which can demand hundreds of megawatts of power per campus. As an example, the data center campus just approved in King George County could total more than 1,200 MW alone.
The Environmental Footprint of the Digital Age
Virginia is subsidizing billions of dollars in data center development on the backs of its ratepayers, without a full understanding of the long-term ramifications.
Initial Transmission Proposals – PEC Web Map
Transmission line proposals to serve the explosive growth of data centers in Virginia over the past few years have begun to roll in.
Case Study in Breaking Ground: An Affordable Housing Resource Guide for Land Trusts
PEC’s take on the intersection between affordable housing and land conservation.
Expanding Access to Community Solar
Community solar is an affordable renewable energy option for residents who cannot secure rooftop solar due to logistical constraints.