PEC urges Virginia moratorium on data center expansion

The Piedmont Environmental Council has called on Virginia state leaders to declare a moratorium on data center grid connections, new transmission lines, backup generation permitting, and new water withdrawals.

• PEC says the pause is needed so the Spanberger administration, General Assembly, state agencies, utilities, counties, and communities can develop rules on energy costs, grid reliability, air quality, potable water, transmission impacts, and community protections.
• PEC Chairman David Aldrich and President Chris Miller made the case in an op-ed published today in the Richmond Times Dispatch; the group also cites billions of dollars in new ratepayer expense, hundreds of miles of transmission lines, and concerns over diesel generators and gas power generation.
• Media contact listed: Mike Doble, mdoble@pecva.org. PEC points readers to its data center information page at pecva.org/datacenters.