Virginia Data Center Intel

Recent Virginia data center news

• Feb 11, 2026

  Gas Plant Proposed by Remington Tech Park Data Center Developers to be reviewed by Planning Commission Feb. 19

  Remington Technology Park LP has filed a rezoning amendment application proposing an onsite primary power production plant featuring 13 gas turbines, a natural gas gate station, and an electrical substation to serve its data center.

  • Main announcement/action: RTP has submitted an updated site plan to Fauquier County that would add 13 gas turbines, a natural gas gate station, and an electrical substation as onsite primary power for the data center; the applicant has applied to the Virginia DEQ for an “Article 6 Minor NSR – No Public Interest” air permit and, according to PEC, “the applicant has failed to respond to our questions.” This proposal would place a third fossil-fuel power plant in close proximity to the Meadows of Remington residential neighborhood and two existing nearby gas plants.
  • Background and process details: RTP pursued onsite generation after learning Dominion Energy cannot provide power until 2030 at the earliest; PEC characterizes the site-plan change as a rezoning amendment and a use added as an Accessory Use rather than a new Special Exception/industrial permitting process. Key factual items:
    • Planning Commission Work Session: Thursday, Feb. 19, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Warren Green Building – Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room, 10 Hotel Street, 1st Floor, Warrenton (no public comments will be heard at that work session; PEC requests written comments prior to the meeting).
    • Board of Supervisors Citizen’s Time: public hearing on Thursday, Feb. 12 (instructions and agenda link provided in email).
    • PEC notes prior local plant used 7.6 million gallons of treated water in 2025 (a nearby peaker plant) and flags concerns about cumulative air emissions (NOx, SO2, PM2.5, VOCs, CO) and noise.
• Feb 5, 2026

  A Renewed Call to Pass Data Center Reform Legislation

  Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) is urging Virginians to contact their state legislators to support a suite of data center reform bills currently under consideration in the Virginia General Assembly.

  • Main action: PEC asks supporters to back a package of bills focused on state oversight (key bills: HB155/SB619, HB284/SB371), enhanced transparency (key bills: HB507, HB496, HB589/SB553), ratepayer protections (key bills: HB658/SB339) and tax incentive reform (key bills: HB897/SB465). The email also notes that a proposed moratorium bill (HB1515) has been removed from consideration.
  • Background & details: The message cites the scale of the issue (>500 facilities with roughly five times that capacity in the pipeline), Dominion Energy forecasting peak demand to more than double by 2038, and a $1.6 billion state sales tax exemption for the industry in 2025. It references polling from CCAN Action Fund and Christopher Newport University Wason Center and promotes an advocacy page and an upcoming Data Center Reform Lobby Day (200 spots currently filled).
• Feb 5, 2026

  Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition in Richmond February 9th to Advocate for Meaningful Data Center Legislation

  The Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition announced a Lobby Day on Feb. 9, 2026 in Richmond to advocate for data center reform legislation.

  • Lobby Day details: Coalition kickoff on Feb. 9, 2026 at 8 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (815 East Grace Street, Richmond); nearly 200 Virginians expected to travel to Richmond to meet with legislators; media invited to RSVP to Mike Doble (mdoble@pecva.org). Several bills may face floor action on Feb. 9, including HB155/SB619, HB284/SB371, HB507, HB496, HB589/SB553, HB658/SB339, HB897/SB465.
  • Coalition priorities & background: The Coalition supports four pillars—state oversight, enhanced transparency, ratepayer protections, and tax incentive reform—and represents 50+ organizations (e.g., CCAN Action Fund, Piedmont Environmental Council, National Parks Conservation Association, Clean Virginia, Nature Forward, Potomac Conservancy). The release cites an ICPRB-related projection that data centers could use 33% of the Potomac Basin’s water (per Ken Wright).
• Feb 5, 2026

  What’s up with data centers in Minnesota?

  Fresh Energy calls on Minnesota regulators and the Public Utilities Commission to adopt policies ensuring data center development benefits Minnesotans and aligns with the state’s 100% clean electricity by 2040 law.

  • Main announcement / action: Fresh Energy urges the Commission to implement better load forecasting, rate design (large-load tariffs), and transparency on water and behind-the-meter generation to ensure data centers pay their fair share; Minnesota currently has 13 operating data centers with 43 MW of capacity and 12 planned projects totaling 1,120 MW (as of January 2026). Key regulatory actions already in motion include Xcel Energy’s large-load tariff filed July 2025 and the Commission requiring Dakota Electric to file an additional tariff in December 2025.

  • Background and details: Fresh Energy cites national context such as data center investment growth from $13.8 billion to $41.2 billion per year and nearly 100 GW of proposed behind-the-meter gas plants nationwide; it recommends using IRP updates, stochastic/scenario-based forecasting, and tariff rate classes so utilities do not overbuild infrastructure or shift costs to residential customers.

• Jan 30, 2026

  Data Centers in the AI Era: A New Blueprint for Growth

  CPS Energy (Elaina Ball) outlined Texas’ push to speed grid interconnections and implement cost-allocation reforms under Texas Senate Bill 6.

  • Main announcement / action:Senate Bill 6 introduces batched interconnection processing and standardized interconnect fees, with Ball noting ERCOT peak supply of up to 85 GW and ~230 GW currently in the interconnection queue; the reform shifts part of transmission/grid-upgrade costs to new data centers to accelerate project movement.
  • Background and implementation details:CPS Energy has doubled its demand forecast and will build more generation and buy power facilities, tighten cold-weather procedures, retire/convert aging assets, and add gas, solar, wind, and battery resources; developers like CyrusOne plan co-location and behind-the-meter (BTM) generation (CyrusOne targeting 1 GW of new data centers per year), and firms such as TECfusions are aligning construction to NVIDIA GPU delivery, experimenting with removing UPS for permitting simplicity and even exploring SMR purchases.
    • Event: PowerGen International, San Antonio, Jan 20-22, 2026 — speakers discussed grid capacity, interconnection reforms, and data center power timelines.
• Jan 30, 2026

  Top 20 countries by the number of data centers in 2025

  DevelopmentAid publishes an overview of the global data center market, trends, and investment forecasts.

  • Main summary: The article provides a market overview noting the United States leads with 4,165 data centers (about 3,000 more being built/planned) and estimates the sector could reach US$22.7 billion by 2030 driven by generative AI, cloud services, 5G, and IoT. It cites major investment figures including Google >€5.5 billion (US$6.37 billion) in Germany and a €1 billion project involving Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom.
  • Background & details: The piece aggregates third-party reports and data (Statista, Axios, McKinsey, JLL, Datum, Baxtel, Global Data Center Hub) and provides regional details: McKinsey’s US$6.7 trillion capex by 2030 (US$5.2 trillion for AI-optimized facilities, US$1.5 trillion for typical IT), Latin America growth from ~US$5bn (2023) to >US$10bn by 2029, and capacity/footprint statistics for countries and hyperscale operators. It is an informational market overview, not a primary announcement of a single new project with implementation timelines.
• Jan 29, 2026

  North Texas’ Caterpillar Partners on Massive Project for AI Hyperscale Infrastructure

  Irving-based Caterpillar has partnered with American Intelligence & Power Corporation (AIP) and Boyd CAT to supply 2 GW of fast-response natural gas generator sets for AIP’s Monarch Compute Campus in West Virginia.

  • Main announcement: Caterpillar will provide 2 GW of fast-response natural gas generator sets to AIP Corp (in partnership with Boyd CAT) to support the initial phases of the Monarch Compute Campus; deliveries are scheduled from September 2026 through August 2027 and the equipment will be augmented with battery energy storage systems to manage AI load swings.
  • Background and details: The Monarch campus is designed as a behind-the-meter, fully self-supplied power platform with a target of 8 GW planned generation capacity and an existing West Virginia microgrid designation; Caterpillar cites use of G3516 fast-response generators (ramp ~7 seconds) with selective catalytic reduction and other emissions controls to meet air permitting and reliability requirements.
• Jan 29, 2026

  The Data Center Surge Has a Hidden Source of Carbon Emissions

  Tech companies are becoming buyers of low-carbon concrete as US data center construction surges.

  • Main announcement: Major tech firms (notably Microsoft and Amazon) are securing low-carbon concrete supply and forming buyer coalitions to reduce embodied emissions in data center construction; Microsoft agreed to purchase up to 622,500 metric tons of cement from Sublime Systems over six to nine years, and Amazon has a deal with Brimstone and is using low-carbon concrete in data centers in Virginia and Oregon.
  • Background and details:RMI projects data center expansion through 2030 will require 2 million metric tons of cement (traditional concrete would emit 1.9 million metric tons CO2); the Sustainable Concrete Buyers Alliance was launched in September by RMI and the Center for Green Market Activation with members including Amazon, Meta, and Prologis; the Inflation Reduction Act had earmarked roughly $1.6 billion for green concrete support which was later pulled, and Sublime cited an $87 million government funding loss and paused its Holyoke factory (laid off 10% of staff).
• Jan 29, 2026

  Salute Military Story: Ramin Amiri

  Ramin Amiri has been profiled as a Data Center Site Manager supporting Compass Datacenters in Leesburg, Virginia.

  • Main announcement/action:Ramin Amiri is serving as Data Center Site Manager with Salute, supporting Compass Datacenters in Leesburg, Virginia, where he leads a team of 11 employees and focuses on operational excellence and maintaining 100% data center uptime.
  • Background and details:Retired U.S. Army interpreter with nearly 21 years of service in Afghanistan; immigrated to Pakistan in 1984, worked sewing rugs until 2001, and credits mentorship from a U.S. Army supervisor for leadership development; contact point provided via LinkedIn.
• Jan 28, 2026

  Comment on Where Ohio’s front-runners for governor stand on ag, energy and the environment by Yolanda Runte

  Ohio Corn & Wheat and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, while front-runners Vivek Ramaswamy, Amy Acton and Casey Putsch outlined positions on agriculture, energy and environment ahead of the May 5 primary.

  • Endorsements & campaign commitments: Ohio Corn & Wheat (OCW) and Ohio Cattlemen’s Association endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy (OCW endorsement announced July/August 2025; OCA endorsement in November 2025). Candidates committed to continuing or building on H2Ohio, addressing water quality, supporting or rethinking biofuels, proposing energy cost reforms (PUCO oversight, consumer protections, PJM reform) and raising concerns about data centers and their grid/tax impacts.
  • Background & concrete details:H2Ohio had 2.5 million acres enrolled and $270 million invested before the program was defunded by 40% in the 2025 biennial budget; the Republican primary is set for Tuesday, May 5, 2026. The article documents candidate positions on E15/biofuel policymaking (federal debate delayed until a February commission) and specific utility/transmission concerns tied to data centers.