Disclaimer – this is not an exhaustive list of resources. We hope to continue adding helpful links to this page.
Reports and Studies
- Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia, from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) Study, 2024.
- This study was commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly in spring 2024 after legislators rejected all proposed legislation proposals to reform the data center industry.
- Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models
- a study on data center water usage by Pengfei Li, Jianyi Yang, Mohammad A. Islam, Shaolei Ren
- The Unpaid Toll: Quantifying the Public Health Impact of AI
- A study on the air pollution effects of data center by Yuelin Han, Zhifeng Wu, Pengfei Li, Adam Wierman, Shaolei Ren.
- Extracting Profits from the Public: How Utility Ratepayers Are Paying for Big Tech’s Power, March 5, 2025.
- A study of ratepayer impacts of data centers by Harvard Law School
- Data centers drive buildout of gas power plants and pipelines in the Southeast, January 29, 2025.
- A study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)
- Issued Air Permits for Data Centers, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- A searchable database of air permits issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for data centers, including procedural reports and guidelines
Overview and Impacts: Webinars
- The Local Impact of Data Centers with Julie Bolthouse, Piedmont Environmental Council land use director
- A one-hour webinar presented by the Ohio State University Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. January 24, 2025
- Unpaid Toll: The Health Impacts of Data Centers
- A 90-minute webinar by Nature Forward on unmitigated public health impact of data centers with Shaolei Ren. February 25, 2025
- AI consumes a lot of water — but why?
- A TED talk on Data Center water usage with Shaolei Ren. October 2024
- Your Hour With APA Virginia: Planning for the Infrastructure of the Digital Age
- A webinar presented by Piedmont Environmental Council Land Use Director Julie Bolthouse. Virginia chapter of the American Planning Association, August 28, 2023.
Articles of Interest for Communities & Locality/Municipality
Taxes and Tax Revenue
- Data Center Tax Revenue Can Be Hard to Predict – Fauquier Times, Oct. 25, 2022
- City Officials Caught Off Guard as Bank Tenant Sidesteps Millions in Data Center Taxes – Potomac Local News | May 5, 2025.
- Secret data center tenant in Manassas not subject to business property taxes – Inside NoVA | May 7, 2025
- Guest Opinon: Banking on data center tax revenue? Wait before cashing that check | Culpeper Times — Opinion | insidenova.com – Culpeper Times, March 18, 2025
- Prince William County spending nearly $500K to fight data center lawsuits – Prince William Times, Dec. 3, 2024.
Power Shortages Impacting the Industry
- Power Shortages Can Lead to “Zombie Data Centers” – Business Insider, Oct. 23, 2025.
- Data Centers Face Seven-Year Wait for Power – Bloomberg, Aug. 29, 2024 [requires a subscription to view]
Other Topics of Interest
Realities of Jobs Creation: The AI Data-Center Boom Is a Job-Creation Bust – The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 25, 2025 [requires a subscription to view]
The Electrical Grid: How Tariffs Could Shock America’s Power System – The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 20, 2025 [requires a subscription to view]
Water Supply: The surging demand for data is guzzling Virginia’s water – Grist, May 8, 2024.
Air Quality: How Memphis became a battleground over Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer – NPR, Sept. 11, 2024.
Noise & Visual Impacts: Data centers are changing the landscape. Here’s how they may affect rural Virginia – Cardinal News, March 12, 2025.
Importance of Local Zoning: Northern Virginia has more data centers than anywhere else in the world. Here’s its advice for Southside | Cardinal News, March 17, 2025.
Data Center as Bad Actors: How Memphis became a battleground over Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer – NPR, Sept. 11, 2024.
Latest News Stories
Why Virginians are paying billions for Dominion’s data center gas plant | Guest column
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Richmond Times-Dispatch
(05/15/26)
Make it make sense: at a time when Virginians’ bills are being hit by soaring fuel costs, yet again tied to never-ending wars overseas, Dominion is proposing what would be the second-largest gas plant in the United States… You and I will finance this unnecessary three-gigawatt behemoth in Cumberland County, and AI data centers will use the electricity.
Board of Supervisors Statement Regarding Non-Disclosure Agreements
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Orange County Government
(05/14/26)
The Orange County Board of Supervisors received a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from a citizen seeking the release of any non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) between the County and potential data center developers and/or their representatives. County staff entered into two agreements. After considering interim legal counsel’s advice, the Board of Supervisors ordered the release of both NDAs in their entirety. The Board remains committed to balancing transparency with its responsibility to protect legally exempt confidential information when appropriate.
Consent Agenda with Data Center Focus Tabled at County Planning Commission Meeting
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Royal Examiner
(05/14/26)
What could be perceived as an evasion of public accountability could also be perceived as a public victory when the County Planning Commission on May 13 voted to table the consent agenda, which featured two items related to data centers.
Latest Iron Horse data center proposal teed up for Hanover Planning Commission review
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Richmond BizSense
(05/14/26)
A data center campus that would straddle the Hanover-Ashland line is coming back before the county’s planning commission. Reston-based WestDulles Properties is seeking zoning approval for its proposed Iron Horse data center project, which would rise on 78 acres..
Dominion substation hits a wall at the Board of Supervisors, vote set for next week
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Loudoun Times-Mirror
(05/14/26)
Loudoun’s bumper crop of data centers has been in the spotlight for years. But another type of project is moving in with them: substations. These projects are essential for data centers, and applications regularly come to county leaders for approval. But several Loudoun supervisors are frustrated with a current one from Dominion Energy, though.
The Data Center Emission Fight in Loudoun County Is the Environmental Battle That Will Define How America Powers Its Digital Future
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The Environmental Blog
(05/13/26)
After Dulles, the suburbs begin to lose their gentleness as you drive west from Washington. The strip malls get smaller. The trees return. Then, out of nowhere, the warehouses show up. They are long, windowless, fenced, and arranged like massive shoeboxes that were dropped by something that didn’t give a damn where they ended up. The hum you hear in Loudoun County is the result of about 200 data centers performing the unseen labor that keeps your AI chatbot responding and your inbox loading. The hum is initially faint but eventually becomes constant.
7 in 10 Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities
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The Washington Post
(05/13/26)
The poll, conducted this spring and released Wednesday, found that seven out of 10 Americans said they would oppose a data center being built near them, including nearly half who say they strongly oppose the projects.
Developer withdraws plan for 160-acre data center in Prince William County, Virginia
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Data Center Dynamics
(05/13/26)
Developer Highland Properties Manassas LLC has withdrawn its plan to build Quantico Ridge, an approximately 160-acre data center in Prince William County, Virginia. The company withdrew its request to change the zoning of a land parcel…
Data center supporters surprise City Council with large turnout for rejected project
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Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
(05/13/26)
But that didn’t stop representatives of various trade and building associations from packing council chambers on Tuesday to express support for the project. Several council members privately expressed surprise…
The AI Backlash Could Get Very Ugly
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The Atlantic
(05/13/26)
Nationally, a record number of proposed projects were canceled in the first quarter of this year following local pushback. Meanwhile, in extreme cases, concerns about AI appear to be tipping into violence.
People Would Rather Have Nuclear Power Plants In Their Area Than AI Data Centers
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Forbes
(05/13/26)
Seventy percent of respondents said they were worried to some degree about how the centers, infamous for their massive energy and water consumption, would impact the local environment…
Column: Virginia lawmakers must deliver data center reforms
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The Virginian-Pilot
(05/13/26)
This is no longer an issue that lawmakers in Virginia can hide from or ignore. Gov. Abigail Spanberger and the General Assembly must finalize a budget deal that holds the data center industry accountable, lowers Virginians’ energy costs…
A Fuel Cell–Powered Data Center Is Proposed for Chantilly
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Northern Virginia Magazine
(05/12/26)
Anew data center could be built in Chantilly with a power system that’s new to Fairfax County. The proposed development would be powered mainly from fuel cells, which convert natural gas into electricity, rather than relying on energy from the power grid, Fairfax Real Estate Insider first reported.
An Honest Conversation We Need About Data Centers
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Governing.com
(05/12/26)
America doesn’t need a simple yes-or-no debate over data centers. It needs a better civic compact to honestly weigh their benefits and costs. States and communities should welcome this digital infrastructure, but only on terms that protect ratepayers, workers, water and public trust.
‘Today, there are no safeguards’: Concerns grow about data centers and PFAS
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The Cool Down
(05/12/26)
In Northern Virginia, the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping more than the internet. It is also transforming neighborhoods, utility bills, and local water systems as giant data centers spread across Loudoun County’s so-called Data Center Alley. As Sierra reported, this is the world’s biggest data center hub, and environmental advocates now say another threat deserves more attention: PFAS, the toxic “forever chemicals” that may be tied to how these facilities are cooled.
Google suggests clean energy might power Botetourt County data center
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WVTF
(05/12/26)
Many of the details are shielded by non-disclosure agreements with local government agencies and other partners. But Google formally announced its intentions around the data center with a press release last month, and company officials are beginning to discuss the project.
Developers pitch 4 data centers at the edge of Prince William Forest Park
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Prince William Times
(05/12/26)
Prince William County’s growing data center industry is attempting to migrate further east along the Va. 234 corridor with three proposed projects – including one that could bring as many as four, 100-foot-tall buildings to the edge of Prince William Forest Park.
‘The data centers are coming’ – but some Hanover and Henrico residents are fighting to stop them
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Henrico Citizen
(05/12/26)
On April 22, local advocacy group Friends of Hanover held an Earth Day rally outside the Hanover County Government Building in protest of a new 427-acre data center proposed at the Hanover-Henrico border in the South Anna District.
The AI Boom Needs Carbon Removal
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Heatmap
(05/12/26)
Somewhere in Virginia, Texas, or Arizona, a data center is being commissioned this month that will draw more power than a small city. The server racks inside will train and run artificial intelligence models for years to come. And the electrons feeding it will, in all likelihood, come partly from natural gas…
More data centers are being proposed in Virginia, here’s what to know about their water usage
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WSLS
(05/12/26)
Across Southwest Virginia, more and more data centers have been proposed to various localities. One of the larger ones is in Botetourt County, which has garnered controversy from residents. Google purchased the 312-acre parcel of land in 2025…
Data center facility gets $800,000 from Virginia Beach for expansion
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The Virginian-Pilot
(05/12/26)
The Development Authority on Tuesday approved an $800,000 economic development incentive grant for Globalinx’s expansion in Corporate Landing Business Park off Dam Neck Road. The data center facility serves as the connection point between subsea cables that land in Virginia Beach and internet service providers.
What’s next for the Digital Gateway data center appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court?
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Fauquier Now
(05/12/26)
Data center developer QTS’ petition to appeal the March 31 Virginia Court of Appeals ruling reaffirming the cancellation of the PW Digital Gateway data center campus still needs to clear procedural hurdles before being heard by the state Supreme Court. Next up, a “writ panel” consisting of three Virginia Supreme Court justices will hear a 20-minute session in late May or early June with two brief arguments from the defense, QTS, for each of the two legal challenges to the Digital Gateway, according to people familiar with the proceedings.
Complaint Filed at FERC Challenges PJM Rules Tied to Data Center-Driven Transmission Costs
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American Public Power Association
(05/11/26)
The PJM Interconnection’s rules for assigning regional transmission costs driven by data centers violate the Federal Power Act and will unfairly inflate Marylanders’ electric bills, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel said in a complaint filed May 7 at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Fairfax County’s first fuel cell data center proposed in Chantilly
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InsideNoVa
(05/11/26)
A new data center has been proposed in Chantilly that would rely on fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity rather than drawing primarily from the power grid. T5 Data Centers will seek a special exception to build a 312,000-square-foot data center…
How data centers could add to Indiana’s air pollution
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IndyStar
(05/11/26)
As Indiana cities see more data centers express interest in setting down roots in the state, local communities and environmental activists are expressing concern about the potential for the new facilities to create local health hazards.
