Dear Friends,

At our Annual Gathering at Eldon Farms in Rappahannock County this summer, we could look through the passing rain storms across hundreds of thousands of acres of verdant green carpet rolling down the Hazel River toward the Chesapeake Bay. The event was a tremendous reminder of the collective impact of individual decisions and actions, and a chance to celebrate huge progress toward ongoing protection of the Rappahannock watershed and a large part of the globally significant Appalachian region. 

PEC, and each of you across our region, are all part of the continuous momentum for conservation. Wherever I travel, whether in the United States or overseas, I am reminded of the amazing collective effort we are engaged in and its importance as a model for community-based solutions. 

And at the same time, we are confronted by the challenge of continuous forces of change. The Virginia Piedmont is at the physical epicenter of the global shift toward generative artificial intelligence and an explosion of data center development threatening our natural resources and conservation values.

PEC has been sounding a clarion call for the last several years, informing and educating a community of people kept in the dark as data center developers, utility companies and some local leaders negotiate behind closed doors and nondisclosure agreements. We’ve been driving a steady stream of policy recommendations that would bring transparency to the impacts of this growing industry, each year building on the momentum of the previous one. We speak at public hearings and serve as the single and consistently reliable source for details and information about data center proposals at the local level.

And recently, we launched Virginians for a Smarter Digital Future, an ambitious campaign that provides a much-needed counterweight to the skewed approach data center developers are using to overload residents and elected leaders with loud claims of speculative benefits of data centers while conveniently leaving out the details about how data centers deplete water resources, degrade air quality, mar the landscape, put our energy grid on the brink of collapse, and force every Virginian to subsidize the wealthiest companies in the world. 

Our perseverance is paying off.

Our calls to mitigate the impacts of the highest concentration of data centers in the world are rippling outward and inspiring communities across the country. We find ourselves repeatedly sought after by national and international media outlets as headlines across the world speak to troubling impacts of the data center industry on our energy systems, water resources, and, especially, people struggling to scrape by in an ever-challenging economy. We’ve mobilized more than 1,300 people to write to the State Corporation Commission calling for a new rate structure that unburdens the people of Virginia from the energy costs of data centers and the profits to be gleaned by Dominion Energy and data center developers from the energy buildout. Other states, hearing our messages, are passing laws that will temper the negative effects of data centers and protect their residents. 

I’m proud that PEC is leading the vanguard when it comes to calling attention to the repercussions of hyperscale data centers and demanding better from the richest companies in the world. Our work has never been more relevant than it is in this moment: when the pressure of data centers and all of their electrical infrastructure threatens both our past conservation victories and our future conservation efforts; when the federal government is stripping away support for clean energy and protections for public lands while also proposing energy infrastructure on working farm and forest lands; and when neighborhoods are threatened with looming data center buildings, towering transmission lines and risks to water supplies and air quality.

This progress is only possible with a community behind us, and our work is enabling Virginians across the commonwealth to more effectively engage local, state and national decision makers. Thanks to the support of members like you, our research, communications and direct actions are helping communities in the Piedmont and beyond stand up, make their voices heard, and balance the opportunity for transformational economic development with the sustainability of our most treasured places. Together, we can build momentum and reach a point where the investment in data centers and energy comes with an even more significant investment in community and conservation.

Sincerely,

Chris Miller, President

This article appeared in the 2025 fall edition of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s member newsletter, The Piedmont View. If you’d like to become a PEC member or renew your membership, please visit pecva.org/join.