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
Virginia study on groundwater, data centers calls for tighter water regulations
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Associated Press
(07/24/26)
Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, has released a long-delayed study that examined the state’s eastern region groundwater supply and the resource-hungry industry’s possible impact on it, finding declines are likely in a critical aquifer due to population growth and industrial use and urging stricter regulations.
A windfall, but at what cost? Inside Loudoun County’s complex relationship with data center tax revenue
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Loudoun Times-Mirror
(07/24/26)
But while data centers have contributed to the county government’s bottom line, residents of Loudoun and elsewhere have pushed back against the industry, citing concerns about noise from the facilities’ cooling equipment, pollution from the on-site backup generators, energy use, and proximity to residential areas.
A windfall, but at what cost? Inside Loudoun County’s complex relationship with data center tax revenue
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Loudoun Times-Mirror
(07/24/26)
It’s been nearly 30 years since AOL built a data center in Ashburn, foreshadowing the boom of an industry that would change Northern Virginia.
Now, after three decades of explosive growth, Loudoun is a new county: the “data center capital of the world” with a $5.4 billion budget, global attention, and constant construction.
Emails show how Virginia regulators downplayed data center health concerns
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E&E News
(07/24/26)
When Virginia’s top environmental regulator received an analysis warning of data center pollution, it took him less than five minutes to forward it to seven people on his staff. The Piedmont Environmental Council had sent the report to Michael Rolband as a courtesy two days before publicizing it in March. It ignited a scramble within the agency to poke holes in the analysis, which raised concerns about the health effects of an AI facility that stands at the vanguard of the state’s fastest-growing industry.
AI-Powered Mass Emails Are Warping Local Energy, Climate Politics
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Bloomberg
(07/24/26)
Two weeks before the board of a Southern California environmental agency was to vote on a pair of landmark climate initiatives last May, staff raised an alarm. “An aggressive campaign” from an “AI powered platform,” they told executives, was flooding their servers with thousands of emails from the public opposing the proposals to phase out gas water heaters and furnaces in nearly half the state’s homes.
Loudoun County researching potential data center moratorium and generator regulations
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Loudoun Times-Mirror
(07/23/26)
Loudoun County is studying a potential data center moratorium, but supervisors are questioning its legality.
Loudoun Supervisors Eye Data Centers Moratorium, More Regulations
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Loudoun Now
(07/23/26)
At the request of Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) county leaders are looking for ways to enact a moratorium on new data center applications in Loudoun. That proposal, made during Wednesday night’s meeting, was accompanied by other efforts to regulate data center backup generators and create a decommissioning plan for the industry as well.
Editorial: Localities can lead by siting data centers in industrial parks
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The Virginian-Pilot
(07/23/26)
But as the rapid growth of the facilities spreads from Northern Virginia — where most of the nation’s data centers are concentrated — far more protections are warranted across the commonwealth. If state lawmakers won’t act, localities must do so.
Loudoun Supervisors Eye Data Centers Moratorium, More Regulations
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Loudoun Now
(07/23/26)
At the request of Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) county leaders are looking for ways to enact a moratorium on new data center applications in Loudoun. That proposal, made during Wednesday night’s meeting, was accompanied by other efforts to regulate data center backup generators and create a decommissioning plan for the industry as well.
Loudoun Supervisors Eye Data Centers Moratorium, More Regulations
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Loudoun Now
(07/23/26)
At the request of Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) county leaders are looking for ways to enact a moratorium on new data center applications in Loudoun. That proposal, made during Wednesday night’s meeting, was accompanied by other efforts to regulate data center backup generators and create a decommissioning plan for the industry as well.
Google to use electric cooling instead of water in at least 1 of 3 data centers on Botetourt campus
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Cardinal News
(07/23/26)
The announcement, released as drought conditions persist in Southwest Virginia and residents continue to protest the data centers’ construction, “is driven by business demand and infrastructure requirements for the project,” the county posted this week on the recent updates section of its data center website.
Virginia localities can say no to data centers. The law decides how
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The Northern Virginia Daily
(07/23/26)
Patricia Haley stepped to the microphone June 23 and told the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors to put their tongues behind their front teeth. Virginia law gives localities three routes when officials want to stop a land use. Many in the room wanted the cleanest one. The board took a different one. It had a reason.
Louisa homeowner’s lawsuit over Amazon data center moves forward in federal court
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29 News
(07/23/26)
A legal battle over Amazon’s massive data center project in Louisa County is moving forward in federal court, as one homeowner argues construction next to his property has dramatically changed his family’s quality of life. Austin Newsom has filed a lawsuit alleging the project has caused a wide range of problems since construction began, notably with the tap water.
Prince William Forest Park land swap considered for data centers
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Prince William Times
(07/23/26)
Federal officials are considering a land swap that would allow a developer to build at least four data centers next to Prince William Forest Park in close proximity to Quantico Creek, one of the most pristine waterways in Northern Virginia.
Beyond the Buildings: Virginia’s Data Center Boom Raises Environmental Planning Concerns
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Environmental Protection
(07/23/26)
Data centers are large facilities that house servers and networking equipment supporting cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital storage and other online services. While the buildings have become a familiar sight across parts of Virginia, environmental advocates argue the larger story lies in the infrastructure needed to power and support them.
In the data center capital of the world, residents ask who the AI boom is helping
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NBC News
(07/23/26)
When Hari Doue’s 9-year-old twins have tried to sleep in their suburban Virginia home, something has been keeping the boys awake: a “high-pitched whining” sound that wasn’t there before. The sound is generated by the data center that was built nearby.
Some Petersburg council members blindsided by data center projects
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Petersburg Progress-Index
(07/22/26)
Several Petersburg city councilors said they were caught off guard after learning two data centers have already had their site plans approved and two more are waiting in the wings.
Spotsylvania meeting hears residents say no way to more tech
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Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
(07/22/26)
Members of the group Safeguard Spotsy, a citizens group advocating for fewer data centers in the area, attended to voice their frustration at the rate at which data centers are being built. In addition, a group of residents from the Salem Fields area spoke against the Scarlet Energy battery storage facility being proposed for development in their neighborhood.
Active Infrastructure Eyes 3M Square Feet of Data Centers Along Evergreen Mills
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Loudoun Now
(07/22/26)
The proposal requests a rezoning of 325 acres from Transitional Residential – 10 to Industrial Park, allowing 10 data center buildings, three substations, and a backup power storage facility. The property in on the east side of Evergreen Mills Road south of the Watson Road intersection.
Former Botetourt County supervisor: A constructive path forward on regional water planning
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Cardinal News
(07/22/26)
The author argues that the Botetourt County Planning Commission’s unanimous request that the board of supervisors authorize a public forum on water supply planning, drought response, infrastructure accountability and related topics represents a constructive step.
Chesapeake City Council approves 8-month hold on data center applications
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VPM
(07/22/26)
The Chesapeake City Council won’t review applications for data centers for the next eight months, or until they approve a formal data center policy. In the meantime, the council will finalize the data center policy Chesapeake’s Planning Commission sent to them, gather public input and research industry best practices.
Starwood files data center plan as Virginia residents revolt
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The Real Deal
(07/22/26)
Starwood filed a permit application for its two-building project at the 34-acre Plaza 500 on the Alexandria town line in Virginia. In addition to the two data center properties, Starwood also proposed a substation on the site, which it purchased four years ago for $165 million. That substation would be located within 100 feet of homes in the Bren Mar neighborhood, sparking opposition among residents.
Warner proposes link of data center tax break to energy efficiency
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The Virginian-Pilot
(07/22/26)
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D- Va., introduced a package of legislation Tuesday to more tightly regulate the use of artificial intelligence, including requirements for the data centers essential to the fast-growing technology. Part of the package is the “Data Center Tax Accountability and Disclosure Act,” which would require data centers to publicly disclose their energy use, water consumption and emissions while also meeting high standards for energy efficiency and environmental protection in return for a federal tax break.
Franklin County supervisors agree to more discussion on data centers
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The Roanoke Times
(07/21/26)
After weeks of growing outcry from the community, the members of the Franklin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday pushed for future work sessions to discuss the potential impact any data center would have on the county and its residents.
Pittsylvania Supervisors Back $100B Berry Hill Data Center Project
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ABC 13 News
(07/21/26)
The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday supporting a proposed $100 billion data center campus at Berry Hill Industrial Park, a move county leaders say could accelerate one of the largest economic development projects in the region’s history.
