The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) supports HB1515, introduced by Delegate Irene Shin last Friday. This bill aligns with PEC’s data center reform efforts to pause approvals of hyperscale data center proposals.
Maps & Resources
Video: “The Hidden Costs of the Cloud: Data Centers and AI in Virginia”
Virginia is undergoing an unprecedented economic, technological, and environmental transformation, all centered around the activities of one industry: data centers.
Significant Impacts of Tenaska’s Proposed Gas Power Plant
Despite the known health and environmental impacts to the surrounding community (detailed below), Tenaska has now proposed a second 1.5 gigawatt plant adjacent to the existing one.
It’s Time for Virginia to Pause Data Center Approvals
Virginia’s energy grid and communities are at a breaking point. Will 2026 finally be the year the Virginia General Assembly takes action to reign in unconstrained data center development with guardrails that ensure a smarter digital future for the state?
Video: Restoring Kestrel Habitat in Virginia
PEC’s Lauria McShane and other members of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative team are busy this fall and winter installing kestrel boxes across our landscape.
The PEC Leadership Felt ‘Round the World
Finally, the world is hearing the alarm that The Piedmont Environmental Council has been sounding for years: that the unconstrained and unregulated explosion of the data center industry is forever changing the face of not only Virginia, but communities around the world.
Wild & Connected: Shenandoah Borderlands property conserved
Nestled on the eastern slope of Saddleback Mountain, a small cottage in the woods has been a family retreat for sisters Gayle and Cathy Soloe for decades, since their father first purchased the 89-acre parcel adjacent to Shenandoah National Park in 1958.
AC44 adopted: PEC’s engagement secures smarter land use planning in Albemarle
Throughout our 50+ year history, PEC has weighed in on comprehensive plan updates across our nine-county service area, an approach that has been foundational to our success conserving and restoring the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont.
The friendliest type of energy generation: a conversation on agrivoltaics
PEC’s Senior Energy & Climate Advisor Ashish Kapoor and Community Farm Manager Teddy Pitsiokos sat down to tell us more about PEC’s groundbreaking agrivoltaics project, which has the potential to revolutionize the conversation around solar and agriculture.
General Assembly Snapshot: 2026
The Virginia General Assembly will convene for a 60-day session beginning Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. PEC staff have co-authored several briefing papers that form the framework of the Virginia Conservation Network’s legislative priorities. Below, we break down some of the key issues we are tracking in the upcoming session.