Getting your news
Attempting to reconnect
Finding the latest in Climate
Hang in there while we load your news feed
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
-
PJM proposes reliability standards for large-load ride-through (no docket)
Source: PJM Inside Lines · Sep 10, 2026PJM Inside Lines reports that PJM has proposed new interconnection reliability requirements for large loads, including data centers and crypto-mining facilities, to require facilities to stay connected during grid disturbances and “riding through” voltage and frequency excursions. The article says the proposal responds to a June 18 FERC order and that “PJM plans to file proposed solutions to FERC in November.”
Backed by 1 primary filing — sign in or book a call to see all sources.
-
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.
-
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
-
Google-backed pilot demonstrates hourly carbon accounting for US BESS using granular certificates
Google and its partners have announced a US battery storage pilot that created what they describe as the first environmental revenue stream for BESS assets, alongside NeoVolta’s US$53 million capacity reservation for Ontario AI data centre projects.
- The three-month pilot used hourly, time-stamped Granular Certificates to time-shift solar energy through esVolta’s Anole (240MW/480MWh) and Burksol (100MW/200MWh) projects, with Quintrace providing verification software and LevelTen Energy managing registry accounts and the transaction framework.
- The pilot covered 9.2GWh of charge/discharge activity and was positioned against emerging hourly reporting expectations from SBTi and the GHG Protocol; separately, NeoVolta Power agreed to supply BESS equipment for Northern Ontario Edge AI data centre projects in calendar year 2027 under a US$53 million binding capacity reservation, with a broader framework contemplating 1.1GWh and US$200 million of potential supply.
-
PEC Statement on the Governor’s Data Center Accountability Framework
An advocacy statement from Warrenton, Virginia is calling for a moratorium on data center development and a special session of the General Assembly to address data center impacts. - The statement says the Governor’s framework is not enough, arguing it does not address existing and pipeline projects, continued grid connections, or impacts on air quality, water supply, electric bills, and communities.
- It cites over 280 million square feet of data center development in the pipeline and 53.8 GW in energy contracts held by Dominion Energy, and references hundreds of miles of proposed transmission lines for data centers.
-
US ROUNDUP: Eos draws US$87 million DOE loan, FlexGen-Lightshift expand to 16 projects, Georgia Power energises 128MW facility
This roundup reports three separate announcements by Eos Energy Enterprises, FlexGen Power Systems with Lightshift Energy, and Georgia Power.
- Eos Energy Enterprises received a US$87 million advance under the second tranche of its DOE loan agreement; the reimbursement covers 80% of eligible costs at the Thorn Hill manufacturing facility in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.
- The company says Line 2 entered commercial production in June 2026 and is ramping toward ~2GWh annual capacity, with Eos expecting ~4GWh across two lines after Line 1 is relocated; separately, FlexGen and Lightshift are expanding to 16 BESS projects across Massachusetts, Virginia and Vermont, and Georgia Power has brought the 128MW Robins Battery Facility online near Warner Robins, Georgia.
-
Coalitions, states rush to attract talent to skilled trades
The article reports on growing interest in skilled trades in the U.S. as AI and retirements intensify workforce shortages, while highlighting several education and industry initiatives.
- A Thumbtack survey of over 2,400 U.S. adults found 82% of Gen Z believe skilled trades offer better long-term job security, and nearly half have started learning or are considering a career change.
- The U.S. Department of Education launched the Connecting Talent to Opportunity Challenge in January and in June announced $15 million in prize funds and technical assistance for 10 states; Lowe’s Foundation launched a trades coalition with more than 75 organizations aiming to train 1 million people by 2035. Maryland’s Plumbers & Steamfitters UA Local 486 accepted 170 apprentices out of 1,300 applicants and plans a new training center in late 2028.
-
Virginia Needs a Data Center Moratorium Now. Read Our Op-Ed.
The Piedmont Environmental Council has called on Virginia leaders to declare a moratorium on data center grid connections, new transmission lines, onsite gas facilities and backup generators, and new water withdrawals.
- The email says the group and its partners in the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition have long sought a pause so the state can plan before more data center contracts lock in costs and risks.
- It frames the request as a response to expected action from Governor Spanberger and outlines six issues: energy costs, grid reliability, air quality, potable water, mitigating energy impacts, and protection of communities; it also cites Dominion Energy opposition to oversight legislation.
- This is an advocacy email/commentary referencing an earlier published Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed, not a new policy announcement by a government entity.
-
Press release: Any further data center contracts must be paused until Virginia’s leaders address these six critical issues
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.
-
Google to buy energy from solar-storage project at former coal mine
Google has announced that it will purchase the energy, capacity and clean energy attributes from MN8 Energy’s Mammoth Solar project in West Virginia, with Eos Energy Enterprises supplying zinc-based long-duration storage.
- The project includes 86 MW of utility-scale solar, 10 MW/100 MWh of zinc-based storage, and 70 MW/280 MWh of lithium-ion storage; solar is expected online in 2028, with storage in 2029 and 2030.
- The release says the project is designed to match clean energy capacity with Google’s regional data center load profiles and add capacity in the PJM region; it also references a separate Google-backed 300 MW/30 GWh iron-air battery project in Minnesota.
-
Loudoun Updates: Are Data Centers in Loudoun County Finally at a Tipping Point?
Piedmont Environmental Council sent a Loudoun County update email highlighting new and pending actions on data center regulation, transmission lines, rural zoning, transportation, and state legislative wins.
- The newsletter says Loudoun is considering new data center regulations, including whether to end grandfathered by-right status early, increase rules for backup generators, and possibly pause local data center and substation applications while zoning amendments are completed.
- It also notes a Vantage Data Centers town hall on Aug. 24, a 3.25 million square foot Spring Valley Tech Park rezoning request, proposed 765kV Valley North transmission routes, and the Golden-Mars line still under Virginia Supreme Court review.
- The email includes upcoming meetings and public hearings in September 2026, plus state-level updates such as SB 340/HB 508 agrivoltaics legislation, a new Oak Hill state park, and funding for a Fauquier/Loudoun groundwater study.
-
Power Availability Now Determines Where Data Centers Get Built
Data Center Knowledge published an analysis on how rising electricity demand from data centers is changing site selection and power planning.
- The article cites Energy Institute data showing US data centers consumed 312.6 TWh in 2025, up 25.5% year over year, while total US electricity generation rose 3.2% to 4,772 TWh; the US accounted for 39.7% of global data center electricity use.
- It argues that operators now prioritize power availability, transmission capacity, utility timelines, and fiber access before land selection, and it quotes executives from DC Byte, FiberLight, and JLL on the growing acceptance of behind-the-meter power, natural gas turbines, battery storage, and firm delivery dates for financing.
-
The POWER Interview: How the Data Center Power Crunch Is Reshaping the Talent Market
POWER magazine has published an interview discussing how power constraints are reshaping data center hiring and compensation.
- LVI Associates executives Grace Søhoel-Goldberg and Grace Simpson say developers are increasingly hiring power systems engineers, utility interconnection specialists, transmission and distribution professionals, and commissioning talent earlier in the project cycle as power availability becomes central to site selection.
- The interview cites Ohio and Texas as the strongest hiring markets, notes weaker momentum in some Southeast markets, and says compensation pressure is rising, including $100,000 to $500,000 sign-on bonuses and one move from about $140,000 to over $600,000.
- It also references Virginia regulatory scrutiny, where the State Corporation Commission directed Dominion Energy to submit alternative cost-allocation proposals for generation and transmission services tied to large-load growth.