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The Piedmont News: September 19, 2025

A weekly news digest of stories that matter – from land use and conservation to climate, energy and policy.

Photo by Hugh Kenny | The sun sets over a field in Madison County | Submit a Photo

Top Stories

  • Agrivoltaics Update: Fall Crops are Planted!

    Piedmont Environmental Council (September 18, 2025) The first round of raised bed crops in our agrivoltaics project at PEC’s Community Farm is planted and our solar panels are generating enough electricity to power the farm!

    This video highlights The Piedmont Environmental Council's agrivoltaics project at our Community Farm.

  • Piedmont Environmental Council Applauds Court Victory in Lawsuit to Protect Wilderness Battlefield

    Piedmont Environmental Council (September 18, 2025) The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) joins the American Battlefield Trust and other partners — who work tirelessly to protect Virginia’s historic resources and scenic landscapes — in celebrating the Orange County circuit court’s rejection of attempts by Orange County and the would-be developers of Wilderness Crossing to throw out the legal challenge to the reckless and secretive way this sprawling rezoning was approved.

  • PJM tries to ease threats to grid from supersize data centers

    Energy Wire (September 17, 2025) The potential threat to grid reliability from supersize AI data centers has grid operators searching hard for answers, with the latest initiative a new policy proposal from PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. regional power market.

  • Crisis is Now: AI explosion pushing power grids, wallets to the brink

    The New Energy Crisis (September 17, 2025) The effects on residents and businesses are not to be underestimated. Power bills are already going up. Blackouts would mean traffic lights out, no air conditioning or heat, spoiled food. Those with means turn on backup home generators, throwing off noise and fumes that damage both the environment and community peace. Not to mention the noise and fumes from the banks of diesel generators that flank every Virginia data center and kick in when the power goes down.

    This article is the first in four-part series published in The New Energy Crisis, a project by the Fauquier Times and Prince William Times. Read more in this series at The New Energy Crisis.

  • Judge Refuses To Dismiss Lawsuit Trying To Protect Wilderness Battlefield From Development

    National Parks Traveler (September 17, 2025) A judge in Virginia has refused to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to protect the Wilderness Battlefield at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park from a commercial development proposed to go in next to the battlefield. The Wilderness Crossing project as envisioned would bring residential and commercial development, including a massive data processing center, next to the Civil War battlefield. The Battle of the Wilderness was fought May 5-7, 1864, and marked the first stage of a major Union offensive toward the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

  • Virginia voters demand answers on data centers, electricity costs

    Axios (September 16, 2025) With most other states' elections happening a year from now, Virginia is seen as a bellwether of how hot-button political issues will play out nationally. At an Axios roundtable on energy in Richmond last week, state and local officials, business executives and others said AI's growing power thirst — and hikes in electricity bills along with the potential for rolling blackouts — are at the top of voters' minds.

  • Environmental group urges caution as Albemarle weighs changes to data center rules

    CBS 19 News (September 16, 2025) With data centers continuing to expand across Virginia, environmental advocates are urging Albemarle County officials to move carefully before making changes to its recently adopted rules governing the industry. The Piedmont Environmental Council said the county is considering updates to its data center ordinance this fall. Under the current regulations, any facility larger than 40,000 square feet requires a special-use permit — a process the group says ensures public input.

    This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse and Senior Land Use Field Representative Rob McGinnis.

  • Amidst boom, data center lobby expands its influence, spending and tactics

    Tech Policy Press (September 12, 2025) As the boom expands, public scrutiny of industry plans and promises is increasing, as are concerns over environmental impacts, demands on energy infrastructure and other economic and social justice considerations. The Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition has become a resource to communities who are trying to educate themselves about the industry and evaluate its claims. “There are a lot of people who need the information we have, and need to talk to each other,” said (Julie) Bolthouse. The reform coalition was born of what she says was necessity. “At the local level, we were losing every battle.”

    This clip features quotes from Piedmont Environmental Council director of land Julie Bolthouse

  • Video: Inside the secretive world of America’s AI data centers

    Business Insider (September 12, 2025) In an exclusive deep dive into the industry, Business Insider reveals the true cost of data warehouses feeding our growing appetite for cloud computing and AI. We travelled to Virginia to meet people living in the shadow of 80-foot-high boxes that emit a constant drone, and to the drought-ridden state of Arizona, where some data centers are using as much as a million gallons of water a day to help cool their computer servers. Business Insider also discovered that the power needs of data centers have forced some states to withdraw from their carbon emissions targets. Power companies are even looking to extend the life of coal and gas plants to help meet the unprecedented demand.

  • Opinion: In ugly times, we need to seek beauty. Here’s how to find it.

    The Washington Post (September 12, 2025) The first installment of a new weekly column about reclaiming our humanity, restoring our connections and reviving our sense of awe. "They were the sort of delights you might expect to find on a trip to the tropics or the botanical garden, or at least the florist’s fridge. Yet these are the flowers of ordinary grasses — their common names are purple love grass, knotroot bristlegrass and field bead grass — that grow abundantly here in the Virginia Piedmont."

  • Dominion Energy rate increase hearings stretch into second week

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 12, 2025) Dominion Energy and the Virginia State Corporation Commission last week began a multi-day hearing to evaluate a proposed energy rate increase for homeowners. The proposed energy cost increase is part of a biennial review that could see homeowners paying a combined $21 more per month on their energy bill. These costs will be split, with an initial rate increase of $8.51 per month starting Jan. 1, 2026, and another $2 per month the following year. Dominion has also proposed a nearly $11 increase in fuel rates for homeowners.

  • SNAP cuts loom, and nonprofits fear they can’t fill the gap left behind

    Cardinal News (September 11, 2025) Changes in work requirements and reductions in federal funding mean fewer Virginians will have access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Food pantries already struggling to meet demand worry they won’t be able to keep up.

Regional

  • Do you have large, thick webs on your trees? They could be from fall webworms

    WTOP News (September 16, 2025) The thick webs are native to the mid-Atlantic region and show up in late August or September. While they can be an eyesore to some, they are harmless.

  • Gray, flying or fox: Squirrels are expert hoarders

    Bay Journal (September 16, 2025) The weather is still mild (and some days are downright hot), but there is one animal that realizes the seasons will be changing soon: the squirrel. You may have already noticed these industrious mammals furiously burying nuts to recover when winter arrives and trees are bare.

  • My tall, stately oak tree is declining

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (September 15, 2025) A tall, stately oak tree grows outside of my kitchen window that I enjoy watching through the seasons. I watch as buds burst open in the spring, grow into a lush, green canopy under the summer sun and change from green to brilliant red in the fall. I see from my window squirrels racing along its trunk, birds perching on its limbs with a song, peckers pecking, and acorns ripening and falling to the ground with a thud, a world unto itself. But this year I noticed a change in my stately oak tree.

  • Descendants of enslaved man, plantation owner unearth past at Maryland cabin

    The Washington Post (September 14, 2025) The families worked with archaeologists and volunteers to sift through soil that had been scooped from the floor of a cabin on the Sotterley Plantation.

  • Regional tourism dollars help local economies

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (September 13, 2025) According to the most recent data released by the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), visitor spending in The Piedmont Journal Recorder footprint exceeded $184 million in 2024, a 1.5% increase compared to 2023. Madison County saw the largest increase in visitor spending – $25 million – rising to 9% above 2023 and Orange County ($57.7 million) saw a 6% rise.

  • US asks federal court to cancel permit for Maryland offshore wind farm

    Reuters (September 12, 2025) If approved by the court, the motion would invalidate a years-long federal process that permitted US Wind's Maryland Offshore Wind Project. The facility was expected to generate enough electricity to power 718,000 homes at a time of soaring U.S. demand.

  • Disease threatens beech trees in all Chesapeake Bay states

    Bay Journal (September 11, 2025) Beech leaf disease, which is thought to have come from Japan, affects all species of beeches including American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and is spread by a microscopic roundworm, or nematode, that makes its home in the tree’s leaves and buds. The nematode consumes tissues inside the buds, and its presence distorts and darkens the appearance of leaves, reducing photosynthesis by up to 60%.

Albemarle County / Charlottesville

  • Concerns over traffic, density, and scope stall vote on major Albemarle rezoning

    C-VILLE Weekly (September 17, 2025) For decades, Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan has placed a portion of land near the intersection of U.S. 29 and Interstate 64 in the growth area. Riverbend Development filed for a rezoning for the property in early 2022, and the Planning Commission held a public hearing on September 9.

  • Albemarle Supervisors get update on Shenandoah National Park

    Information Charlottesville (September 12, 2025) The park is a major driver of tourism for many of its neighboring communities. Supervisor Mahoney said a recent economic impact study found that the park generates $104 million in economic activity in the eight gateway communities and supported 1,240 jobs.

  • County Updates Timeline for Eastern Avenue Bridge Deal

    The Crozet Gazette (September 5, 2025) Albemarle County’s Facilities and Environmental Services (FES) department has made a few adjustments to its procurement schedule for Crozet’s long-awaited Eastern Avenue bridge/connector, and it has mapped out a detailed order of events for the handling of solicited bids on the project. The connector road, or “extension” as FES designates it, has been a crucial piece of infrastructure endorsed in Crozet’s Master Plan for over two decades and is expected to alleviate many of the area’s traffic bottlenecks. The extension will span Lickinghole Creek to provide an additional north-south throughway linking Rt. 250 to Westhall Drive, Crozet Park, and downtown.

Culpeper County

  • Over 200 years old, The Temple at Montpelier to be restored

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 18, 2025) An iconic structure at James Madison’s Montpelier is getting a major facelift thanks to federal support. The Montpelier Foundation announced a $552,204 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service to support the preservation and restoration of the neoclassical, open, domed outdoor “temple” located to the left of the mansion.

  • Local tourism generates $78 million in ’24

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 16, 2025) Culpeper sees 1.6% increase year over year, Orange jumps 6%.

  • Culpeper Cheese Company announces closure

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 13, 2025) After nearly 20 years peddling cheese and complimentary fare to a fan following around the area, Culpeper Cheese Co. creator Jeffery Mitchell says he is charting a new course.

  • Use permit required for data centers on industrial land

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 13, 2025) Board of Supervisors amend ordinance to remove by-right use – data centers in the Culpeper Technology Zone will remain a by-right use while new projects seeking to locate on industrial land in the county will require more scrutiny and public input through the conditional use permit process.

  • 28th Culpeper Harvest Days Farm Tour next weekend

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 13, 2025) A free self-guided tour for the whole family, the 28th Annual Culpeper Harvest Days Farm Tour will be held at 10 different sites around the county, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21. This long-running tradition invites residents and visitors to explore the rich and diverse agricultural community of Culpeper County, located in the scenic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Fauquier County

  • Warrenton residents raise concerns over proposed Monroe Estates subdivision connection

    Fauquier Now (September 18, 2025) The Warrenton Planning Commission on Tuesday postponed a decision on a proposed eight-lot residential subdivision that would connect the under-construction Warrenton Crossing development to the Monroe Estates neighborhood. The decision came after residents voiced concerns about traffic, safety and neighborhood impacts.

  • Fauquier officials opposes alternative routes for Dominion transmission line

    Fauquier Times (September 16, 2025) Dominion Energy’s Morrisville–Wishing Star transmission project is aimed at meeting rising electricity demands driven by the data center industry in Loudoun County and across Northern Virginia. The project calls for building a 500 kilovolt, or kV, transmission line along existing rights-of-way and a new 230 kV transmission line in Fauquier County.

  • First battery storage facility approved in Fauquier County

    Fauquier Times (September 16, 2025) Fauquier County leaders have approved the first battery energy storage facility in the county, and one of the largest in Virginia. The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a permit allowing Dominion Energy to add a battery facility to its substation and natural gas generators on Lucky Hill Road in Remington.

  • Event: 2nd Annual Rokeby Community Festival

    Oak Spring Garden Foundation (September 15, 2025) The Rokeby Farm property has a long and storied history as an icon of the Virginia Piedmont. Operated by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Rokeby is a place where agriculture, art, learning and community thrive together. Highlights of the upcoming festival include live music, food and drinks provided by The Roaming Coyote, The Dog House, Red Truck Bakery, DC Me Rollin', MooThru, Powers Brewery and Slater Run Vineyard, and activities and games for adults and children.

    The Community Festival will take place on September 27th from 10am - 4pm at 8538 Mill Reef Rd in Upperville 20117. Tickets are $10 each – children under 12 are free

  • Fauquier Habitat launches new program to help cover home repairs

    Fauquier Times (September 14, 2025) By filling out a one-page, income-based application, anyone who owns and lives in Warrenton’s historic district can apply for funding to pay for a fresh coat of paint, fence or porch repair, or other maintenance.

Greene County

  • Greene Supervisors approve financing package for White Run Reservoir, other projects

    Information Charlottesville (September 12, 2025) Greene County has been planning for many years to increase its water storage capacity and has permits from federal and state authorities to impound White Run to create a reservoir. This week, the Board of Supervisors approved the issuance of up to $43.5 million in bonds to pay for some of the construction.

Loudoun County

  • Water, Traffic Impacts Emerge as Top Resident Concerns for Valley Commerce Center

    Loudoun Now (September 18, 2025) Purcellville residents are concerned that plans for a business park will impact the town’s water supply and worsen traffic along Purcellville and Hirst roads.

  • Lucketts residents brainstorm alternatives to proposed bypass

    Loudoun Times-Mirror (September 18, 2025) Loudoun County is considering a highway bypass around the village of Lucketts. Lucketts has other ideas. Residents gathered at the Lucketts Community Center on Sept. 17 to brainstorm alternatives to the proposed bypass of U.S. 15 around the village.

  • Community Prepares for SCC Hearing on Golden to Mars Power Line

    Loudoun Now (September 17, 2025) The line is the next phase of a transmission line loop that will connect new 230 kilovolt and 500 kV lines with new substations, providing additional power infrastructure to the county. It begins at the Golden substation near the intersection of Rt. 28 and the W&OD Trail and travels southeast to a new substation east of Dulles International Airport. Residents and elected officials have consistently raised concerns about the line’s impact on nearby neighborhoods and plans to route it near Rock Ridge High and Rosa Lee Carter Elementary schools. Many have pushed a proposal to have the line buried underground.

  • Over 500 New Homes Approved Along Evergreen Mills Road

    Loudoun Now (September 17, 2025) An application that would permit 518 housing units and commercial uses along Evergreen Mills Road south of Leesburg was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night. The known as Greenfield Farm, the project envisions 496 single-family detached units, 22 multi-family attached units and 44,265 square feet of commercial uses on the nearly 175 acres. The application would also permit a gas station and a drive-through restaurant.

  • This week in the Board Room: a substation proposal, proactive zoning and data center standards

    Loudoun Times-Mirror (September 17, 2025) A proposed substation, data center standards, zoning issues and more were on the agenda at the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors' business meeting on Sept. 16.

  • Wildlife Sanctuary Open House Draws 300 Visitors

    Loudoun Now (September 15, 2025) A rare open house at the JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary near Lucketts drew just over 300 visitors this weekend, according to the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, which owns the 89-acre nature preserve.

  • Dateline Ashburn: The thirst for AI raises alarms in Virginia

    Broadband Breakfast (September 12, 2025) Despite the seemingly abundant water supply in Ashburn, Virginia – home to the world’s largest cluster of data centers – the region has already begun to experience the reality of climate change and water scarcity. In 2024, Loudoun County faced a months-long drought that triggered mandatory water use restrictions across the area.

  • Invasive Plant Removal Grant Program Launches Monday

    Loudoun Now (September 12, 2025) Work to curb the spread of invasive plant species continues to ramp up as the county government rolls out a $2 million grant program to support efforts by community groups and landowners. The county plans to award grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to help remove invasive plants including invasive plants like Bradford Pears, English ivy, Japanese barberry, and Japanese stilt grass from the local landscape.

Madison County

  • Madison indoor self-storage SUP advances to public hearing

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (September 18, 2025) In a rare move Wednesday night, the Madison County Planning Commission decided one workshop would be sufficient for Darrell Payne’s climate-controlled self-storage units planned for N. Main Street in Madison.

Orange County

  • Local tourism generates $78 million in ’24

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (September 16, 2025) Culpeper sees 1.6% increase year over year, Orange jumps 6%.

  • Two nonprofits align to combat food insecurity in Orange County amid federal funding cuts

    Charlottesville Tomorrow (September 16, 2025) As the Trump administration makes sweeping changes to medical and food assistance programs while cutting grants to many safety-net organizations across the country, two local nonprofits are partnering to expand access to healthy food in Orange County.

  • Proposed annexation in Orange sparks uproar

    Free Lance-Star (September 14, 2025) Orange County and Gordonsville residents and officials alike are in an uproar after the town's mayor took to social media to celebrate the "first official steps" toward annexing nearly 1,000 acres of the neighboring county. The project's opponents on both sides of the town limits have called the annexation "unethical," "reprehensible" and a "money grab."

Rappahannock County

  • Rappahannock County farms open next weekend for annual tour

    Culpeper Times (September 18, 2025) The 16th annual two-day Rappahannock County Farm Tour is taking place Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sixteen farms will be open for the free, self-guided event offering behind-the-scenes glimpses of working farms. There is a wide range of farms and experiences ranging from beekeeping to horses to organic vegetable farms, not to mention goats, chickens, cows and local artisans selling their wares. For brochures, guidance and directions stop by the Visitors Center at 3 Library Road in Washington (off of Route 211).

  • Town of Washington changes zoning approval process, seeks treasurer, Christmas volunteers

    Rappahannock News (September 14, 2025) The Washington Town Council, at its meeting last Monday night, addressed such issues as filling the position of treasurer, amending the zoning approval process, completing a town walking trail, seeking volunteers for Christmas festivities, in addition to discussing cost sharing with the county of a new courthouse.

  • Event: Butterfly parade at Rappahannock County Park

    Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (September 12, 2025) A family-friendly event that blends creativity, nature, and hands-on science for all ages. Craft your own butterfly wings, explore local native plants and discover why pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential to a healthy ecosystem.

    The Butterfly Parade will take place in Rappahannock County Park 7 Park Lane, Washington, VA on Sunday, September 21, 2025 from 2-4 pm

Prince William County

  • City of Manassas rejects battery energy storage facility slated near historic homes

    Prince William Times (September 17, 2025) Concerns about safety risks led City of Manassas officials to reject a large-scale battery energy storage system proposed on city-owned property near historic homes and some businesses.

  • New Vint Hill substation receives lukewarm response from Prince William Planning Commission

    Fauquier Now (September 17, 2025) Dominion Energy’s planned gas-insulated substation for the Vint Hill Road corridor in Nokesville received a tepid response from the Prince William Planning Commission during its Sept. 10 meeting. The substation’s two-part application consisted of a public facilities review and a special use permit given its location outside the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District.

Greater DC

  • Vibrant fall foliage in the forecast for the DC area

    WTOP News (September 12, 2025) Anyone itching to sip pumpkin spice lattes during sweater weather and go leaf peeping will be happy to hear that the forecast for this year’s fall foliage is “vibrant.”

  • Mob of invasive spotted lanternflies appear on DC area’s weather radar

    WTOP News (September 12, 2025) The invasive species’ latest show of force painted the weather radar. “It’s going to be partly cloudy, with a chance of lanternflies here in the DMV,” said Michael Raupp, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland and the self-proclaimed “Bug Guy.” Local radar featured what experts believe to be a mass of spotted lanternflies moving about as they were picked up by wind currents.

  • The W&OD Trail is a Northern Virginia treasure at risk

    GreaterGreaterWashington (September 11, 2025) Despite its longevity and popularity, the trail is facing an immediate threat today from Dominion Energy’s clear-cutting plans. A potential long-shot proposal to build commuter rail in the corridor could also spell trouble for this gem.

Surrounding Area

  • Maryland groups join forces for upcoming data center decisions

    Bay Journal (September 16, 2025) Maryland organizations are coalescing around a common concern: the growing presence of data centers. Six organizations focused largely on land use recently combined their efforts to form a Maryland Data Centers Analysis Group. The focus is to provide information “from verified sources” to local groups looking to learn more about the potential impacts of data centers and possible policy solutions to concerns that arise.

  • As data centers go up, North Carolina weighs how to handle energy demand

    Canary Media (September 16, 2025) In small communities across North Carolina, data centers are already sparking conflict over land use, water use, and quality of life. Now, the debate over the facilities’ voracious need for electricity — and whether it can be met with clean sources — is heating up in the state capital of Raleigh.

  • Army’s Fort Belvoir permit sparks clash over PFAS pollution

    Richmond Times-Dispatch (September 15, 2025) A stormwater discharge permit for the U.S. Army’s sprawling base at Fort Belvoir has drawn vocal pushback from environmental advocates concerned about the spread of PFAS into the Chesapeake Bay. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that don’t easily degrade in nature. They accumulate readily in the human body and are linked with higher levels of cancer and developmental delays at high rates of exposure.

  • King George Planning Commission recommends denial of solar project involving county attorney

    Fredericksburg Free Press (September 12, 2025) The King George County Planning Commission voted 4-1 Tuesday night to recommend denial of a utility-scale solar project proposed on land owned by County Attorney State Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland).

  • State officials are considering a water quality permit for a controversial natural gas pipeline

    WUNC (September 12, 2025) MVP Southgate is just one of several natural gas infrastructure projects being proposed across the Southeastern U.S. The rise of data centers and artificial intelligence is fueling this high demand for more energy.

  • Stone crabs are here to stay in the lower Chesapeake Bay

    Bay Journal (September 11, 2025) Rom Lipcius, professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, said temperatures are rising in the lower Bay. Also, stone crabs use oyster reefs as nursery habitat — and the Chesapeake Bay Program has restored about 1,800 acres of oyster reef to reach its restoration goal.

Virginia

  • Dominion’s Proposed Peaker Plant Flouts Environmental Justice, Community Says

    Inside Climate News (September 18, 2025) For the first 60 years Duane Brankley lived here, about a mile and a half from a coal plant owned by Dominion Energy, coal ash coated the shingles on his roof and the insides of his lungs. The coal plant finally closed in 2023, but soon Brankley could be facing an even more insidious air pollutant: fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, from a new natural gas plant, the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, that Dominion wants to build on the site of the old coal facility.

  • Virginia Department of Forestry seeks public’s help with acorn and nut collection

    Rappahannock News (September 17, 2025) The Virginia Department of Forestry is calling on residents to help bolster the state's future forests by collecting acorns and nuts this fall. Many of the nuts falling in developed areas would otherwise never grow into trees, making public donations crucial for the DOF's tree nurseries.

  • Finneywood, back on the table

    SOVA Now (September 17, 2025) Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors, officials with Virginia Dominion Energy are back with a new proposal for Finneywood Solar, a 98-megawatt project that the utility giant wants to build near Chase City. Dominion is seeking county approval of a special exception permit that will allow it to move forward with developing the proposed solar array on 493 acres at Highway 49 and Fort Mitchell Road, a short distance from Chase City.

  • Newly formed coalition aims to promote natural gas industry’s interests in Virginia

    Cardinal News (September 16, 2025) The group’s creation comes as stakeholders debate the role of natural gas in meeting the state’s forecast for rapidly rising electricity demand while facing legislatively mandated clean energy requirements.

  • Collect acorns, nuts to help Virginia Department of Forestry grow species in its tree nurseries

    WRIC (September 15, 2025) The department said people can collect acorns and nuts this fall to donate and help its tree nurseries grow species that are hard to find or only grow in specific areas of Virginia. Of particular interest are acorns and nuts from the Black Oak, Black Walnut, Chestnut Oak and White Oak trees.

  • Near Miss dashboard collects data from drivers and cyclists, provides an avenue to safer roads

    Virginia Mercury (September 15, 2025) Thomas King is used to cycling around Richmond. The Church Hill resident often rides on weekends and he also commutes by bike to his office a few miles away. He knows the best routes to take, what supplies to bring – such as spare tires – and now, he knows how to report almost-accidents on PlanRVA’s Near Miss Dashboard.

  • Candidates for statewide races declare positions on crucial agricultural issues

    Rocktown Now (September 13, 2025) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general have partnered with Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC, a nonpartisan political action committee, to present their stances on agricultural and forestry issues that align with Farm Bureau policy. While endorsements will not be issued for individual candidates for the top spots in state leadership this year, farmers serving on the AgPAC board of trustees met with all six campaigns and briefed them on important agriculture and forestry issues. Candidates were then given the opportunity to present their agriculture and forestry platforms to the full AgPAC board of trustees.

  • Sweeping government ruling hands major victory to homeowners with solar panels over power companies: ‘It’s a big win’

    The Cool Down (September 13, 2025) After a contentious year-long struggle, Virginia regulators delivered a resounding victory for solar-panel owners and advocates, striking down a power company's attempt to pay less for excess electricity that homeowners with solar panels provide to the grid. Under the current rules, homeowners with solar panels receive a credit toward future energy use in an amount equal to the excess electricity they provide to the grid, which comes out to about 17.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. This system is known as "net metering."

  • Graph: Data Center Employment

    VPAP.org (September 12, 2025) With its heavy concentration of data centers, a larger fraction of Virginia's workforce works for data centers than the nation as a whole. That proportion is on the rise.

  • ‘This is a serious matter’: Bipartisan legislators warn of federal cuts on Virginia’s budget

    WVTF (September 11, 2025) The final report included concerns about millions in lost healthcare funds, changes to SNAP and Medicaid eligibility, and impacts on state revenues as federal employees, some of the state’s highest paid, are cut by the Trump administration.

  • Virginia energy groups urge state to fight federal solar grant termination

    WHRO (September 11, 2025) About half of Virginia households were expected to qualify for Solar For All, which sought to reduce energy bills by making solar power more affordable.

  • Google invests in new Chesterfield data center project as energy costs rise

    The Commonwealth Times (September 10, 2025) A new Chesterfield data center is expected to begin construction by the end of the year as part of Google’s new $9 billion investment in Virginia announced in August by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Google president Ruth Porat at Brightpoint Community College. The investment will also expand existing locations in Loudoun and Prince William Counties, according to Data Center Dynamics. Increased and continuous construction of data centers will coincide with Dominion Energy’s monthly rate increase for customers, proposed at the State Corporation Commission’s 2025 biennial rate review.

    This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse.

National

  • Engineers turn fish biology into a breakthrough microplastic laundry filter

    Anthropocene Magazine (September 16, 2025) Synthetic fibers now make up more than two-thirds of all fabrics produced each year, and as many as 1.5 million fibers can be released from a single synthetic garment during a wash cycle. Inspired by the filter feeding mechanisms of basking sharks and manta rays, a startup called Cleanr has developed a filter that traps over 90% of microplastics released in each wash cycle.

  • US farmers are being squeezed – and it’s testing their deep loyalty to Trump

    BBC (September 15, 2025) US agricultural groups warn that American farmers are facing widespread difficulty this year, mostly due to economic tensions with China. Since April, the two countries have been locked in a trade war, causing a sharp fall in the number of Chinese orders for American crops. American farmers are wounded as a result, economists say. The number of small business bankruptcies filed by farmers has reached a five-year high, according to data compiled by Bloomberg in July.

  • MAHA wants action on pesticides. It’s not going to get it from Trump’s corporate-friendly EPA

    Wired (September 15, 2025) The White House’s new Make America Healthy Again strategy makes some asks of the EPA—but critics say the agency is too industry-friendly to make a difference.

  • Riding the high from data centers, the grid cannot kick its gas habit

    Inside Climate News (September 14, 2025) Big Tech’s AI frenzy is pressing up electricity demand around the country. The power grid is stuck in natural gas-fueled inertia, slow to bring new clean energy projects online and leaving consumers on the hook.

  • US electric grids under pressure from energy-hungry data centers are changing strategy

    AP News (September 13, 2025) With the explosive growth of Big Tech’s data centers threatening to overload U.S. electricity grids, policymakers are taking a hard look at a tough-love solution: bumping the energy-hungry data centers off grids during power emergencies.

  • The EPA’s backdoor move to hobble the carbon capture industry

    Heatmap (September 12, 2025) The Trump administration’s bid to end an Environmental Protection Agency program may essentially block any company — even an oil firm — from accessing federal subsidies for capturing carbon or producing hydrogen fuel. Last week, the EPA proposed it would stop collecting and publishing greenhouse gas emissions data from thousands of refineries, power plants and factories across the country.

  • Chart: Trump is slowing climate progress. Here’s how much.

    Canary Media (September 12, 2025) After Trump’s budget law and regulatory rollbacks, the country’s carbon emissions are set to fall much slower than they would have under the Biden admin.

  • ‘Disastrous’: Experts alarmed over Trump admin’s ‘genuinely frightening’ move

    Raw Story (September 12, 2025) Public health and environment defenders on Friday condemned the Trump administration’s announcement that it will no longer uphold Environmental Protection Agency rules that protect people from unsafe levels of so-called ”forever chemicals” in the nation’s drinking water.

  • E.P.A. to Stop Collecting Emissions Data From Polluters

    The New York Times (September 12, 2025) The E.P.A. proposal would end requirements for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country. The government has been collecting this data since 2010 and it is a key tool to track carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that are driving climate change.

  • Solar power gave hope to former prisoners in NJ. Federal cuts are taking it back

    Inside Climate News (September 11, 2025) As federal clean energy programs vanish under Trump, graduates of a reentry solar training program face an uncertain future.

  • USDA to invest up to $18 million in farm to school grants

    News From The States (September 11, 2025) State agencies, tribal organizations, child nutrition programs, nonprofits, agricultural producers and groups of producers can apply for grants from $100,000 to $500,000 to support new and existing farm to school projects specifically, those that incorporate more unprocessed and locally produced foods in school meals, encourage the consumption of fresh foods, train producers on food safety and procurement requirements or educate students on agriculture and nutrition.

  • OpenAI’s funding challenges loom over Oracle, Broadcom deal spree

    The Wall Street Journal (September 11, 2025) World’s largest startup needs more paying users, but it isn’t clear whether they will materialize soon.

Global

  • UK and US unveil nuclear energy deal ahead of Trump visit

    BBC (September 15, 2025) The key focus of the so-called Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy is to make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations in both the UK and the US. The hope is to halve the time it takes to gain regulatory approval for nuclear projects from up to four years to two. In practice, it means that if a reactor has already passed safety checks in one country, that work can be used to support the work of the other.

  • What are data centers and why do they matter?

    The Center Square (September 14, 2025) Data centers may not be visible to most Americans, but they are shaping everything from electricity use to how communities grow. Research from Synergy Research Group shows the number of hyperscale data centers worldwide doubled in just five years, reaching 1,136 by the end of 2024. The U.S. now accounts for 54% of that total capacity, more than China and Europe combined. Northern Virginia and the Beijing metro area together make up about 20% of the global market.

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