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Virginia Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Virginia — updated daily.
Virginia · Construction & power moves · 40
full tracker →Land, power, and interconnection moves across Virginia — each traced to primary filings.
Top JUST IN — Virginia
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PJM, Dominion Review Large Load Transfer Event
Source: PJM Inside Lines · Aug 11, 2026PJM Inside Lines reports that PJM is reviewing changes to interconnection reliability requirements for Large Loads after a July 22 event in Virginia in which “nearly 4,000 MW of data center load trip offline unexpectedly.” The article also says FERC ordered NERC to create enforceable Reliability Standards for computational loads and that the first phase of new enforcement provisions is due Dec. 31, 2026.
Backed by 1 primary filing — sign in or book a call to see all sources.
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Opening Statement of Commissioner Christie to House Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security
Source: FERCFERC Commissioner Christie warned that U.S. grid reliability faces “potentially catastrophic consequences” as “unprecedented forecasts for demand increases” from “data centers, including Artificial Intelligence (AI)” collide with fast-retiring dispatchable generation and policy pressure. In PJM, he said, “PJM faces unprecedented load growth due to the proliferation of data centers,” while also noting that EPA power-plant rules could “forcibly” accelerate coal retirements and make new gas generation “extremely difficult, if not virtually impossible” to build. Christie also said the PJM interconnection queue “largely consists of intermittent generation, primarily wind and solar,” and that legal challenges are delaying needed natural-gas pipeline infrastructure.
Backed by 1 primary filing — sign in or book a call to see all sources.
Recent Virginia data center news
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Data Center Backlash Reaches the Ballot Box
Data Center Knowledge reports that at least 18 incumbent officeholders lost elections between August 2025 and August 2026 after actions tied to data center projects or controversies.
- Utah saw the clearest cases: J. Stuart Adams, Lee Perry, and Boyd Bingham all lost GOP primaries after involvement with the proposed Stratos project in Box Elder County.
- In Missouri, four incumbent Festus city council members lost after a fight over a proposed $6 billion data center project; other losses and campaign attacks appeared in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Oregon, and Georgia.
- The article is a news analysis/review, not a primary announcement; it aggregates election results, government records, campaign materials, and local reporting, and includes industry and policy responses from Tigercomm, Data Center Coalition, and state leaders.
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The Janus Five: 20+ Commercial Nuclear Microreactors, Starting in 2028
The U.S. Army has announced the Janus Program selections for more than 20 commercial nuclear microreactors across five military installations.
- The Army selected BWXT Advanced Technologies for Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Radiant Industries for Fort Benning, Georgia; General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems for Fort Hood, Texas; Antares Nuclear for Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and Westinghouse Government Services for Fort Drum, New York.
- The five vendors may draw on up to $2.2 billion in Army investment through fiscal year 2031 under fixed-price, milestone-based OTA agreements negotiated through DIU; first project service is targeted for September 2028.
- The article is a news report/commentary summarizing a first-time announcement and includes background on related Pentagon microreactor programs, including the Air Force’s ANPI and Project Pele.
- Several vendor-specific details are provided, including Radiant’s up to $750 million award for 15 Kaleidos units, and Antares’ combined book of around $1 billion across programs.
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How Data Centers Are Using AI to Run Cooler and Smarter
The article explains how data center operators are using AI to improve cooling, power use, maintenance, and incident response, and how the industry is moving from pilots toward broader production use.
- Digital Realty uses its OPDaaS platform and other AI tools to analyze sub-second telemetry from power, cooling, and building systems; it is also deploying Phaidra at IAD51 in Northern Virginia and plans to bring about 30 more data centers online by the end of 2026.
- AWS, DPR Construction, and Schneider Electric are also applying AI for network operations, construction planning, robotics, digital twins, DCIM, and service dispatch; analysts say most operators still keep humans in the loop and full autonomy is not yet common.
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US Army to spend $2B to build nuclear microreactors at 5 bases as US seeks to ramp up nuclear power
The U.S. Army has announced plans to add nuclear microreactors at five military bases under its Janus program, selecting five companies to own, construct and operate the reactors if milestones are met.
- The selected sites are Fort Bragg (North Carolina), Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Fort Hood (Texas), Fort Benning (Georgia), and Fort Drum (New York); each reactor is expected to produce 1 MW to 20 MW.
- The Army said the companies could receive up to $2.2 billion total over five years; Radiant said its award is $750 million. The Army also said it is working with the Energy Department on radioactive waste removal and expects billions of dollars in private capital investment.
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Culpeper County Takes on Transmission Lines in Comprehensive Plan Amendment
PEC is urging support for Culpeper County’s proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment to reduce impacts from new transmission lines tied to data centers.
- Wednesday, Sept. 9 @ 7 p.m.: The Culpeper County Planning Commission will hold a hearing at the County Administration Building, 302 N. Main St., Culpeper, VA on the amendment, with the earliest Board of Supervisors hearing expected on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
- The amendment would support a Corridor-First Policy, favor previously disturbed areas, avoid sensitive lands and resources, and prefer undergrounding where feasible; it responds to Valley Link’s proposed Joshua Falls-Yeat 115+ mile, 765-kV transmission line between Campbell County and a proposed Yeat substation in Culpeper County.
- The email also advertises an Aug. 29 informational session at the Culpeper Library on Data Centers in Virginia and Culpeper, and notes a separate Sept. 24 session hosted by the Culpeper Citizens Information Network at the Culpeper United Methodist Church.
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Facilities betting big on low-cost, 100-hour iron-air batteries
Form Energy has announced a $750 million capital infusion and said the proceeds will accelerate manufacturing scale-up.
- The company said the financing brings total capital raised to $2 billion since its 2017 launch, and will help scale its manufacturing facility in Weirton, West Virginia.
- Form Energy is also working with Google and Xcel Energy on a project in Pine Island, Minnesota to supply 300 MW of battery capacity and 30 GWh of storage; the article notes this could be the world’s largest battery and that Form has an 80 GWh order backlog including projects tied to Crusoe and FuturEnergy Ireland.
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How Data Center Controversies Have Transformed the Midterm Elections
The Associated Press has published an analysis of the growing political opposition to U.S. data centers and how it is reshaping policy debates. It is commentary and reporting on a broader trend, not a first-time corporate announcement.
- The article says Oracle, Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft expect to spend more than $700 billion on U.S. data centers this year, while OpenAI and Oracle are building Project Jupiter, a $165 billion complex near the Mexican border in New Mexico.
- It also notes opposition over water use, electricity costs, and climate impacts; examples include a challenge to well drilling permits in New Mexico, a one-year ban on large data centers in New York, and tougher regulatory steps in Texas under Greg Abbott.
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Orange Data Center Updates
The Piedmont Environmental Council is urging Orange County to pause new data center applications and strengthen its comprehensive plan ahead of a public hearing on transmission line changes.
- PEC says Orange County should pause consideration of any new data center application until Virginia has a state plan that addresses transparency, public input, cumulative impacts, electric bills, air quality, water supply, and other effects.
- The email also says the Orange County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, August 25 at 4 p.m. at 11282 Government Center Drive, Orange, Va, and will vote on a comprehensive plan amendment tied to the proposed 115-mile Joshua Falls-Yeat transmission line and the SCC filing by Valley Link; contact information is provided for Don McCown, Senior Land Use Field Representative.
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Episode for August 21, 2026
The Allegheny Front has published an episode roundup highlighting Pennsylvania environmental and infrastructure-related developments, including data center regulation and a coal mine review.
- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order to rein in data center development, requiring developers to follow new rules, including obtaining approval from local officials.
- A separate item says the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will conduct an expansive technical review of the Rustic Ridge coal mine in the Laurel Highlands, examining impacts to drinking water, wildlife, and tourism. The roundup also references growing opposition to data center construction and an Archbald Borough local data center rush.
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How AI is giving nuclear power a second chance
BWXT and Applied Atomics are reviving the mPower small modular reactor project to pursue new nuclear capacity for data centers and industrial customers.
- The article says BWXT ended development in 2017, after about $400 million had been invested, and the 120-foot-tall test facility outside Lynchburg, Virginia then sat unused for nearly a decade.
- Applied Atomics, founded by former SpaceX engineers, is partnering with BWXT on the project and says its first 195-megawatt reactor could eventually serve data centers and other industrial facilities; the companies are also exploring floating nuclear plants.
- The story frames this as a response to rising AI and data-centre power demand, while noting unresolved issues including construction costs, regulatory approval, radioactive waste storage, and safety concerns.