Virginia Data Center Intel

Recent Virginia data center news

• Apr 10, 2026

  As Trump throws lifeline to coal plants, critics warn of higher costs and health risks

  The Trump administration has used emergency powers to prevent scheduled coal plant retirements and to fund upgrades that keep plants operating.

  • Main action: The administration issued emergency orders to keep at least five coal plants from closing, spent $175 million on upgrades for seven plants, is considering $350 million more in applications, and officials (e.g., Interior Secretary Doug Burgum) have articulated a goal of “100 per cent stay open, no more retirements”, citing grid reliability concerns. The administration also used measures that delayed the planned retirement of the Schahfer Generating Station in Indiana and justified keeping it online for extreme weather power needs.
  • Background and details: The piece references analysis by Enverus that suggested no additional coal retirements may occur during the administration; it notes 34 GW of coal capacity was set to retire before 2029, coal plants slated to retire emitted >130 million tons CO2 last year, and that keeping the fleet afloat could cost about $1 billion annually. Legal challenges have been filed by multiple states (Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado).
• Apr 10, 2026

  The Rise of Data Centers Brings Environmental Permitting Challenges and Litigation Risk

  The Trump Administration issued Executive Order No. 14318 in July 2025 to accelerate federal permitting of data center infrastructure.

  • Federal acceleration: The executive order (Executive Order No. 14318) and America’s AI Action Plan direct accelerated permitting for projects including natural gas turbines, coal, nuclear, geothermal, and other dispatchable baseload energy resources, and the US Army Corps of Engineers has implemented guidance (Nationwide Permit 39) clarifying that “data centers, artificial intelligence and machine learning facilities” can qualify for general permitting under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These are existing, prior announcements (July 2025 EO; subsequent agency actions) rather than new announcements in this article.
  • Local litigation and project details: The article reports on active legal disputes (December 2025 writ petition; February 2026 court ruling granting leave to amend) over a proposed $10 billion, nearly one-million-square-foot data center complex in Imperial, California. Developer Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing filed a separate civil rights suit in January 2026 alleging a loss of over 1,600 construction jobs, 100 permanent positions, $72.5 million in blocked one-time sales tax revenue, and $28.75 million in recurring annual property tax revenue; the developer has proposed a court-approved “global settlement” that would “run with the land.”
• Apr 9, 2026

  Goodman and DataBank partner on Vernon data center 

  DataBank Holdings and Goodman Group have formed a joint venture to market LAX2, a new 140,000‑square‑foot data center in Vernon, Los Angeles, scheduled to open in December and expand to 32MW by September 2027.

  • Joint venture & project details: The companies announced a JV to market LAX2 at 3094 East Vernon Avenue; the facility is 140,000 square feet, scheduled to open in December with an initial 6MW at launch, and will scale in phases to 32MW by September 2027. Goodman developed the project and acquired the site in 2023; DataBank will operate and market it and will complement its nearby LAX1 (18,000 sq ft, 2MW) site.
  • Background & financing: Goodman currently manages $12.4 billion of work in progress globally; DataBank recently received a $250 million equity infusion from New York‑based TJC LP and previously completed a $2 billion equity raise in 2024 (including $1.5 billion from AustralianSuper). The JV states both parties intend to expand the relationship into additional capacity‑constrained U.S. markets and LAX2 is part of DataBank’s national pipeline exceeding 850MW across multiple U.S. cities.
• Apr 9, 2026

  The Rise of Data Centers Brings Environmental Permitting Challenges and Litigation Risk

  The Trump Administration issued Executive Order No. 14318 and America’s AI Action Plan in July 2025 calling for accelerated permitting of data center infrastructure.

  • Executive actions: The administration’s Executive Order No. 14318 and America’s AI Action Plan (July 2025) direct accelerated permitting for energy and electrical infrastructure serving data center projects, including natural gas turbines, coal, nuclear, geothermal, and other dispatchable baseload resources; the US Army Corps of Engineers issued Nationwide Permit 39 clarifying that “data centers, artificial intelligence and machine learning facilities” qualify for general permitting under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
  • Local disputes and litigation: Local jurisdictions have enacted oversight (e.g., Loudoun County data center standards) while the City of Imperial sued Imperial County (writ petition filed December 2025) to block a nearly 1 million-square-foot, $10 billion data center project; the developer, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, filed a separate civil rights suit (January 2026) alleging coordinated obstruction and quantifying blocked revenues of $72.5 million (one-time sales tax) and $28.75 million (recurring annual property tax), and has proposed a court-approved global settlement that would “run with the land.”
• Apr 8, 2026

  Balancing Growth and Affordability While Building the Grid We Need Today

  Grid Forward’s GridPulse podcast kicked off season 7 featuring Virginia Commissioner Jehmal Hudson discussing state regulators’ role in modernizing the grid and coordinating with utilities.

  • Main announcement/action: GridPulse (Grid Forward) released a season 7 episode where Commissioner Jehmal Hudson (Virginia SCC; Vice President of NARUC) outlined the responsibilities and challenges for state commissioners, emphasizing speed, coordination, and affordability; he cited concrete figures including over 2000GW of generation and storage projects in interconnection queues, average wait times that have more than doubled over the past decade, and the DOE finding that regional transmission may need to expand 20%–128% by 2035.
  • Background and details: Hudson recommended concrete priorities: disciplined planning, risk allocation for large loads, and pacing/prioritization; he highlighted deployment of Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) (advanced power flow controls, dynamic line ratings, topology optimization) that the DOE estimates can generate over $5 billion annually in production cost savings and can increase line utilization by ~16% and reduce congestion by ~50%.
• Apr 7, 2026

  In Major Win, Massive ‘Digital Gateway’ Data Center Project Has Been Halted

  The Virginia Court of Appeals voided rezoning decisions that underpinned the Digital Gateway project, effectively halting the proposal.

  • Main announcement: The Virginia Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling (March 31, 2026) declaring the three rezoning decisions for the Digital Gateway proposal void from the outset because the Prince William County Board of Supervisors failed to properly notify the public before its December 2023 hearing; the decision combines lawsuits brought by the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, nearby residents, and the American Battlefield Trust and bars an appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. Key project details: 37 data centers, 14 substations, 22 million square feet (equivalent to ~144 Walmart Supercenters) across ~2,100 acres; PEC estimated 3–6 gigawatts of potential power demand and warned of risks to the Occoquan watershed serving 800,000 people and Manassas National Battlefield Park (serving >700,000 visitors).
  • Background & near-term actions: PEC and partners opposed and litigated the rezoning (including filing an amicus curiae); the email urges legislative action to end or phase out the state data center sales tax exemption (reported at $1.9 billion in 2025). Legislators reconvene April 23, 2026 to try to finalize the budget; the Senate proposed to phase out the sales tax break while the House kept it. Additional concrete facts: PEC cites $14.4 billion as Virginia outdoor recreation economic value (BEA 2024 data); Dominion Energy is building related infrastructure and several transmission projects have been proposed to serve data center loads.
• Apr 7, 2026

  Will the Dickerson data center project impact MoCo’s environment?

  Atmosphere Data Centers and Terra Energy propose a large data center campus at the former Dickerson power plant site in Montgomery County, Maryland.

  • Project announcement and status: Atmosphere Data Centers (developer) and Terra Energy (site owner) are proposing a 110-acre data center campus with a planned capacity of 360 megawatts; Terra Energy filed an initial application in December 2023, so this article reports on an ongoing proposal rather than a first-time announcement. The campus would connect to the grid via FirstEnergy transmission lines and requires new on-site infrastructure (substation, switchyard).
  • Key technical and regulatory details: Atmosphere says the campus would use an average 69,300 gallons/day for cooling with a proposed maximum daily allowance of 500,000 gallons; the company plans diesel generators with emissions controls for backup (selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters). Atmosphere has submitted water withdrawal and discharge permit applications to the Maryland Department of the Environment, while local activists and county officials are urging a 100% renewable energy commitment and greater transparency on water use. County climate targets cited: 80% emissions reduction by 2027 and 100% by 2035.
• Apr 7, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

  Four Reasons New AI Data Centers Won’t Overwhelm the Electricity Grid

  Robin Gaster argues that the AI Data Center Moratorium Act introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is unnecessary and misunderstands the drivers of electricity prices.

  • Main point: The author contends the moratorium is unnecessary because electricity price increases are driven largely by fuel costs (especially natural gas), capacity/backup costs, and utility capex, and there are four practical pathways (slower buildout, demand management, bring-your-own-power/BYOP, and utility contract structures) to add data center load without raising rates. The piece explicitly rejects emergency federal action and frames the Sanders–Ocasio-Cortez bill as an inappropriate response.
  • Background and specifics:>240 GW of data center announcements (mostly planned to 2030) is cited but only ~1/3 being built; OpenAI plans $600 billion in data center investment by 2030 vs ~$20 billion in revenues; PJM capacity prices rose from ~$60/kWh (2024) to > $300/kWh (2025); typical permit timelines 6–18 months, design/construction 20–54 months, queue times in PJM up to 8 years; contractual protections noted include 15-year minimum contracts, ~85% minimum load guarantees, exit fees, and “hold harmless” guarantees used by some hyperscalers.
• Apr 6, 2026

  General Assembly Update — Spring 2026

  The Piedmont Environmental Council reports tentative outcomes of the Virginia General Assembly’s 60-day session and the bills now sent to the governor, with a budget impasse centered on a massive data center tax break prompting legislators to reconvene April 22 and begin a special session April 23.

  • Main outcomes: The General Assembly sent bills to the governor’s desk on conservation, data center reform, energy & climate, and housing; a proposed $3-per-square-foot data center tax (“Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act”) that would have generated up to $250 million per year for land conservation did not pass the House. The Senate proposed completely eliminating the data center sales tax exemption, which has grown from an initial $1.6 million estimate to a projected $1.9 billion in 2025, and the House instead proposed tying exemptions to renewable energy and efficiency commitments; budget disagreement delayed final action until the April reconvening.

  • Other key details and passed measures: PEC-backed conservation reforms (limits on condemning conserved lands, limits on planting invasive species, PFAS monitoring/reporting) moved forward while some measures (dark-sky education, Chesapeake Bay Pay for Outcomes Fund) failed. Energy & climate wins include an agrivoltaics definition and the Distributed Generation Expansion act requiring 1 gigawatt of solar on previously disturbed sites plus bills to speed rooftop solar permitting, enable balcony and parking lot solar, expand shared solar, create a Distributed Energy Taskforce, and expand energy storage and surplus interconnection. On data centers, noise assessments and a voluntary demand response program passed; stronger air quality provisions and broader water-disclosure requirements were largely watered down to stronger emission standards and monthly water use reporting.

• Apr 6, 2026

  On the Ground Updates – April 2026

  PEC provides a multi-county update on land use, transmission, data centers, energy and water infrastructure actions across Virginia.

  • Main action: PEC is reporting on county-level planning and advocacy, including the adoption of Albemarle Comprehensive Plan (AC44) effective Jan. 1, 2026, engagement on two proposed 230 kilovolt transmission rebuilds (Dooms→Charlottesville and Charlottesville→Gordonsville), monitoring multiple data center approvals and applications (e.g., Culpeper Technology Campus, Copper Ridge, Edgecore, Keyser Farm, Equinix expansions), and intervening in the Dominion Energy net metering State Corporation Commission case (decision due May 1, 2026).
  • Background and other details: PEC lists specific hearings and timelines: Clarke public input sessions on the Rural Lands Plan (April 6 and April 9); Maroon Solar conditional use brought to Culpeper Board of Supervisors (April 7); Warrenton/Circuit Court oral arguments on vested rights (June 15); I-66 Broad Run bridge advertised for bid fall 2026; FirstEnergy plans SCC submission for Page–Sperryville upgrade in summer 2026; PJM withdrew a proposed 1.2 gigawatt gas plant in Jan 2026. The update documents drought impacts (9.5 inch annual deficit in Clarke, <60% precipitation in nine regions since Oct. 1, 2025) and local code changes (e.g., Rappahannock substation special exception requirement).