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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Fauquier Now
(December 18, 2025)
The controversial Gigaland data center complex proposal near Remington, withdrawn by its developers two weeks before a scheduled vote on the project by the Board of Supervisors in September, will be resubmitted to the county Planning Commission before Jan. 1, scaled back by more than half its original scope.
PEC produced a video about the original Gigaland data center proposal that was withdrawn by the developers.
Loudoun Now
(December 18, 2025)
As a New York-based lodging company advances through the early stages of considering a Loudoun site for a new rural resort, area residents are raising concerns about the impact to their quality of life. The project, called Eastwind Blue Ridge, is planned on 147 acres across five parcels in southwest Loudoun on the border of Fauquier and Clarke counties.
This article features a quote from PEC President Chris Miller.
Prince William Times
(December 18, 2025)
Another massive data center complex is being pitched for nearly 2,000 acres in rural Gainesville and Catharpin by a developer with ties to a Prince William County school board member and a former county supervisor.
Loudoun Now
(December 18, 2025)
After more than 20 hours of public comments, the State Corporation Commission today heard opening arguments in the request by Dominion Energy to build a new transmission line through part of eastern Loudoun, but the rest of hearing will be delayed until Jan. 8.
Virginia Mercury
(December 16, 2025)
The state’s Department of Environmental Quality would expand permissible uses during emergencies to include “planned outages” by grid operators, presumably for power line upgrades.
PEC Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse is quoted in this story.
Virginia Mercury
(December 18, 2025)
A recent study by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin found that climate change and data centers could create major challenges down the road for the water source.
Bay Journal
(December 16, 2025)
Legislation is moving through Congress that would tell the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be “cooperative” with states that should be curbing pollution to the Chesapeake Bay – a directive that one Maryland lawmaker warns could undermine compliance with Bay cleanup goals.
Charlottesville Community Engagement
(December 15, 2025)
Several mobility advocates had questioned before the Planning Commission meeting why the draft CIP only depicts $100,000 a year on bicycle infrastructure. Transportation Planning Manager Ben Chambers said there is about a million dollars in the fund and there are plans to use $800,000 during this fiscal year.
CVILLE Right Now
(December 13, 2025)
City manager Sam Sanders said at that meeting the goal is to go from the current 66 CAT drivers to 108, adding 10-11 drivers, plus support staff, per year over the next four years.
Fauquier Times
(December 18, 2025)
Fauquier County farmers hurt by trade market disruptions and high production costs may be eligible for federal aid. President Donald Trump announced on Dec. 8 that he will use $12 billion in tariff revenue to provide one-time payments for farmers who had a tough season amid the U.S. trade war with China.
Fauquier Times
(December 16, 2025)
Remington officials outlined their goals for the new year in a strategic plan adopted at Monday’s town council meeting. The document centers on economic development, the town’s infrastructure, “small-town feel,” public safety, municipal services and the town’s comprehensive plan.
Fauquier Times
(December 16, 2025)
The Fauquier Board of Supervisors voted to approve two new churches in Fauquier County last week: the Church of God in Midland and the Monterey Church in New Baltimore. “We like woods, we like farmland and churches are pretty good too,” Supervisor and board chair Kevin Carter said at a Dec. 12 meeting after voting to approve a special exception for the Church of God in Midland.
The Daily Progress
(December 14, 2025)
After decades of debate, Greene County has broken ground on the White Run Reservoir. The $100 million project is expected to take three years to complete.
Loudoun Now
(December 16, 2025)
A new proposal by Dominion Energy to bring more power to Loudoun would see a new underground transmission line built to a substation in south Loudoun a using a different technology known as high voltage direct current line.
Virginia Mercury
(December 16, 2025)
All year, the residents of the Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhoods in Ashburn have been railing against a proposed high-voltage power line that could run through their community to energize dozens of data centers on the other side of town. On Monday, they spelled out their concerns to state regulators in Richmond.
Loudoun Now
(December 10, 2025)
Loudoun County’s $25.5 million transit system is expected to log more than 4.5 million miles in fiscal year 2026. County supervisors are looking to do even more next year.
The Piedmont Journal Recorder
(December 18, 2025)
Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance, adding a floating Technology District after a lively public hearing Tuesday night. Community members were very vocal in their concerns about data centers and most of the public comment suggested that data centers and solar farms were not something that Orange County residents were anxious to see in their community.
Byrd Street
(December 16, 2025)
The Town of Gordonsville’s leaders are fed up with the rates the Rapidan Service Authority (RSA) charges for water service and sewer processing, and as of Monday night, the town is preparing to file suit if RSA declines to make those essential services more affordable for town residents.
Prince William Times
(December 18, 2025)
Prince William County taxpayers will pay another $400,000 to defend the county’s largest and most controversial data center project: the Prince William Digital Gateway. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted 5-3 to spend the money to pay outside lawyers to fund the county’s appeal of a judge’s ruling that canceled the massive development earlier this year.
Washington Business Journal
(December 17, 2025)
There's a new proposal for another gargantuan data center development in western Prince William County, a project that would rival the size of the controversial Digital Gateway. An affiliate of LSI Communications wants to designate a 1,930-acre assemblage as industrial to allow “for data center, substation, and other supporting uses.” The project is called Dulles South Innovation Center...
InsideNoVa
(December 17, 2025)
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday authorized two controversial new housing developments near the Occoquan Reservoir Protection Area... Scores of local residents attended Tuesday's meeting meeting, which did not wrap up until after 1 a.m. as numerous community members voiced concerns for both projects...
Prince William Times
(December 11, 2025)
Big changes are coming to Nokesville. Three new developments approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors could bring as many as 1,059 homes to a 2-mile stretch of Vint Hill Road.
Bay Journal
(December 18, 2025)
Meeting this week in special session, Maryland lawmakers passed again a trio of climate and environmental bills that Gov. Wes Moore had vetoed after the 2025 General Assembly. House and Senate members voted overwhelmingly to override Moore’s vetoes of legislation requiring studies of the cost to Maryland of climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions and of the economic, energy and environmental impacts of data center development in the state.
WAMU
(December 17, 2025)
The former coal plant is the proposed site for a data center development, those windowless buildings that store the cloud and power artificial intelligence. Environmentalists have concerns. According to the data center project description, the facility will use Potomac River water for cooling, which typically means returning warmer water into the river.
WAMU
(December 16, 2025)
The funding needs for Metro, commuter rail, and bus systems in Northern Virginia total about $400 million annually, according to findings from a General Assembly joint subcommittee on transit funding in the region. The question is: will Richmond fund that ask?
Virginia Mercury
(December 17, 2025)
A plan to purchase a historic Shenandoah Valley rail line that includes developing a trail moved forward on Tuesday, after the state’s authority on passenger rail agreed to a potential budget amendment to fund the project. Some want to boost the region’s economy and promote healthy lifestyles by turning it into a multi-use trail, while others see similar possibilities by restoring the rail line and building a parallel trail.
Fredericksburg Free Press
(December 17, 2025)
Stafford County supervisors continue to battle the Kraken. That’s Dominion Energy’s proposed North Anna-Kraken Loop project, a 70-mile, 500-kilovolt power line that would go through Stafford, Louisa, Spotsylvania, Caroline and Fauquier counties. The Stafford Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to once again express their opposition to having the line go through the county...
Axios
(December 15, 2025)
The data center wars are heating up in Maryland. When DMV residents think of data centers — and the opposition to them — they likely think of Northern Virginia, home to the world's biggest collection and much local pushback against their spread. But more data center projects are being proposed and built in Maryland as the country rushes to keep up with demands for data storage, streaming and AI use.
Fredericksburg Free Press
(December 11, 2025)
The acronym N.I.M.B.Y. is sometimes used as a descriptor — or even a pejorative — for those opposed to nearby developments. But for Erica Kasraie, a proposed data center at 1500 Gateway Blvd. in Fredericksburg drives the meaning home literally. Kasraie lives on Great Oaks Lane, a little over 600 feet away from the proposed development, which, she said, would face her backyard.
Virginia Mercury
(December 19, 2025)
Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger detailed how she plans to work with legislators to make utility bills more affordable, as the cost of electricity continues to rise across the commonwealth. The incoming Democratic governor’s ideas range from bolstering battery storage capacity to reducing power use and the need for expensive transmission lines.
Virginia Mercury
(December 17, 2025)
Officials say proposed change would bring Virginia’s water intake guidance in line with standards in other states but researchers and conservationists say it could harm aquatic wildlife.
PEC signed on to a letter opposing DWR's proposed changes, which we believe are inadequate.
Reuters
(December 17, 2025)
The Trump administration is reviewing whether to send the Interior Department's Biden-era approval of a Virginia offshore wind project that is under construction back to the agency for reconsideration. Dominion Energy has already installed all 176 wind turbine foundations, has lain deepwater cables and completed one of three offshore substations.
Virginia Tech News
(December 12, 2025)
As energy needs associated with data centers continue to climb, so do questions about their reliability, sustainability, and economic impacts. Virginia Tech recently hosted a workshop bringing together experts from industry, academia, and government to plan for a center-scale effort with the goal of enabling a more resilient and efficient data center ecosystem through research, workforce development, and policy.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(December 12, 2025)
Amid the data center "frenzy," state lawmakers must think carefully about the ramifications of legislation, authorities on different sides of the issue said Thursday.
WAMU
(December 11, 2025)
With the explosion of AI, the demand for data processing power is growing exponentially, sparking debate over the growth of data centers nationally and regionally. Earlier this week, President Trump said he planned to issue an executive order preventing states from limiting data center development. Meanwhile, a coalition of environmental and other groups have asked Congress to halt new data centers to assess energy and environmental impacts.
The Verge
(December 19, 2025)
If there’s one thing Republicans and Democrats came together on in 2025 — at least at the local level — it was to stop big, energy-hungry data center projects. Fights against new data centers surged this year as grassroots groups, voters, and local lawmakers demanded more accountability from developers.
Axios
(December 18, 2025)
Nearly 3,000 new data centers are under construction or planned across the U.S.... adding to the more than 4,000 already in operation. Virginia leads the country in data centers, with 663 operational and 595 more either under construction or planned.
Politico
(December 17, 2025)
Tech companies and lobbyists are investing millions of dollars to tackle a new political problem for the industry: Data centers, the lifeblood of the growing artificial intelligence economy, are becoming toxic with voters.
The Washington Post
(December 17, 2025)
The Trump administration said Tuesday it was breaking up one of the world’s preeminent Earth and atmospheric research institutions, based in Colorado, over concerns about “climate alarmism."
Tech Policy Press
(December 17, 2025)
Cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake. From Maryland to Missouri, at least fourteen states are home to towns or counties that have implemented moratoriums: a complete pause on data center development.
This article quotes PEC Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse
The New York Times
(December 16, 2025)
Three Democrats are seeking information from tech firms about the growing energy use of data centers and the utility bills of individuals and other businesses.
90.5 WESA
(December 15, 2025)
Anxieties have been rising in Springdale as the borough north of Pittsburgh debates whether to welcome a data center to the site of a former coal-fired power plant. The borough council plans to make a decision at its Dec. 16 meeting...
The Washington Post
(December 15, 2025)
By 2030, industry and government projections show data centers could gobble up more than 10 percent of the nation’s power usage. Estimates vary, but all show a dizzying rise of between 60 and 150 percent in energy consumption by 2030. On average, they project U.S. data centers will use about 430 trillion watt-hours by 2030. That is enough electricity to power nearly 16 Chicagos.
