PEC backs Virginia bills pausing hyperscale data center approvals

The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) supports Virginia bills HB1515 and HB155 to pause hyperscale data center approvals and require stricter review before high-load facilities begin operation.

• Main announcement: PEC supports HB1515 (Del. Irene Shin) which would impose a temporary moratorium on local data center approvals for hyperscale proposals until pending requests for interconnection to the grid have been fulfilled; the measure is promoted as a pause to let the infrastructure catch up and address power availability for Northern Virginia projects.
• Background and additional details: PEC also supports HB155 (Del. Josh Thomas) which would require the State Corporation Commission to review grid capacity and reliability, effects on other customer bills, environmental and public health impacts, and alignment with state clean energy policy before issuing a certificate of operation; PEC cites the certificate plus the HB1515 pause as a combined approach to enable proper planning and oversight.

Media contact: Mike Doble, PEC Communications, mdoble@pecva.org

Related documents: HB1515, HB155, PEC Op-Ed (links provided in document_urls).