On Thursday, Nov. 30, PEC hosted more than 150 people in Hillsboro to discuss transmission line and data center proposals in Loudoun.
Strong Communities
PEC believes that the work of protecting natural resources and the work of building better communities are integral to each other.
Existing and Proposed Data Centers – A Web Map
How many data centers currently exist in Virginia? How many proposals are in the works? These are very good questions. It’s also extremely difficult to provide an answer, given there is no publicly available dataset or state-level tracking of these facilities. In response, The Piedmont Environmental Council has pulled together an online web map showing existing data center facilities (that we are aware of), along with pending data center proposals we have found on various town and county websites, as well as through various news outlets.
2023 Highlights: A Holistic Approach to Conservation
PEC works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. The following highlights reflect our work in 2023.
Resources from our Solar on the Farm workshop – November 14, 2023
On November 14, 2023, PEC hosted a workshop called “Solar on the Farm: Improving Your Ag Operation with On-site Energy.”
Piedmont Environmental Council sues Orange County for VFOIA violations
In the interest of good governance and transparency, The Piedmont Environmental Council filed a lawsuit yesterday against Orange County for improperly denying public access to documents pertaining to a local rezoning application, in violation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuit comes after Orange County officials were unresponsive to PEC’s petition for a Writ of Mandamus, served on Oct. 26, which gave county officials a number of days to correct their VFOIA deficiencies. The lawsuit reflects PEC’s growing concern about the dramatic loss of public access to information about land use decisions in Orange County and across the Commonwealth.
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.
Creating Walkable Piedmont Communities: A Resource Guide
This guidebook is intended for local government staff, community stakeholders, and residents interested in revitalizing downtown main streets, making neighborhood streets safer, and connecting parks, civic and natural amenities with trails.
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.