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.
Recent Virginia data center news
-
Climate Change Solutions - July 29, 2025
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) newsletter highlights recent climate change solutions, legislative updates, and upcoming events.
- Innovative technologies such as AI-driven disaster resilience tools by U.S. National Laboratories and upgraded air filters to reduce wildfire smoke injuries are featured.
- Legislative progress includes the Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act passed by the House, the La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act advancing with job creation and solar capacity details, and the Fire Ready Nation Act advancing in the Senate to enhance wildfire forecasting.
- Upcoming briefings focus on Ohio River restoration and the intersection of AI and climate policy.
- The newsletter also provides links to recordings of the 28th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and related policy forums.
- EESI President Daniel Bresette is quoted on energy and AI topics; contact details and social media links for EESI are provided.
-
What is a data center?
McKinsey has announced a detailed analysis and outlook on the rapid growth and investment needs of data centers driven by AI workloads.
- $6.7 trillion global investment in data centers is projected by 2030, with 70% driven by AI workloads; AI-ready data centers require new infrastructure including power, cooling, and electrical systems.
- Regional challenges include power supply constraints in the US and Europe, labor shortages, and sustainability demands; opportunities exist for investors, real estate firms, and telecom operators to support data center expansion and clean energy integration.
-
How AI is impacting the adoption cycles of hydrogen and fuel cells
The article announces the growing role of hydrogen fuel cells as a clean, reliable, and scalable power solution for AI infrastructure.
- Hydrogen fuel cells provide zero-emission, grid-independent power and can flexibly support data centers facing grid capacity constraints, with deployments by companies like Microsoft, Equinix, and Google.
- Renewable hydrogen production costs have dropped over 60% since 2010, supported by policies such as the US Inflation Reduction Act and hydrogen roadmaps in Europe and Asia, enabling broader adoption in AI data centers and hybrid energy models.
-
Protected: Where the Power Flows: The Top 10 Hyperscale Data Centers by Load in North America — Powered by Enverus Instant Analyst™
Enverus has announced insights into the top 10 largest hyperscale data centers by load in North America, highlighting key locations and their energy consumption.
- Top data centers include Microsoft Azure, Meta, Vantage Data Centers, and Colocation America with loads ranging from 590 MW to 1,862 MW.
- Enverus offers tools like Instant Analyst™ and PRISM™ to accelerate data center siting by analyzing power demand, pricing, and land suitability, supporting faster and more informed infrastructure development.
-
Gas Buildout Continues Across Southeast
The article reports on ongoing and planned expansions of methane gas infrastructure across Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
- Duke Energy plans 9 gigawatts of new methane gas generation by 2035, delaying interim carbon reduction goals; Williams Companies and Mountain Valley Pipeline are advancing pipeline expansions crossing state borders.
- Dominion Energy received state permission to increase fossil fuel use despite clean energy mandates, facing community opposition and expert testimony suggesting alternatives like battery storage could meet demand; Tennessee Valley Authority board changes have stalled its long-term energy planning while it proposes aggressive methane gas generation expansion.
-
Data centers seek flexible power solutions for resilience, sustainability
-
Fast, Flexible Solutions for Data Centers
RMI and co-authors analyze the impact of data center growth on electricity demand and propose solutions for reliability and affordability.
- Data centers currently use 2% of global electricity and may account for 10% of projected demand growth (2024-2030), but are not the main driver of global load growth.
- Utilities risk overbuilding and raising ratepayer costs by over-forecasting demand; solutions include energy efficiency, demand flexibility, grid-enhancing technologies, and co-location with renewables. Singapore’s Green Data Centre Roadmap aims to free up 300 MW (over 20% of its data center load) via efficiency and renewables. China’s East-to-West Computing Resource Transfer Project could cut sector emissions by 16–20% and generate $53B in economic benefits.
-
Climate Change Solutions - July 15, 2025
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) recaps recent U.S. climate and energy policy developments, including new legislation, issue briefs, and upcoming events.
- Reconciliation package (P.L. 119-21) signed into law on July 4, 2025, ending or curtailing tax incentives for energy efficiency, renewables, and electric vehicles.
- Congressional committees advanced bills on algal bloom mitigation, precision agriculture, coastal data, and wildfire resilience; EESI published briefs on critical minerals, data center water use, and recapped 60 climate-related hearings from May-June 2025.
-
Load growth: The impending grid apocalypse that’s giving your utility operator nightmares
-
Data Centers and Water Consumption
Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo reports that rapid expansion of data centers — especially AI-focused facilities — is increasing freshwater withdrawals and putting nearby communities and water systems at risk.
- Main announcement: Data center water demand is rising with energy and AI growth: individual large facilities can use up to 5 million gallons per day (≈1.8 billion gallons per year), U.S. data centers numbered 5,426 and consumed 163.7 billion gallons annually (2021); a federal report estimated ~211 billion gallons indirect water consumption from electricity in 2023. The article documents sources of water demand (on-site cooling, power-plant water use, chip manufacturing) and links this rise to higher chip densities and AI workloads.
- Background and technical details: The piece explains water accounting via WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness) (average ~1.9 liters/kWh; “0” is ideal), notes ~80% of withdrawn water typically evaporates, and describes cooling options (closed-loop, free cooling, air cooling, direct-to-chip and immersion cooling) and supply options (recycled/gray water vs. blue freshwater). It cites regional impacts (Northern Virginia: ~300 data centers; Loudoun County used ~900 million gallons in 2023) and sector-wide forecasts (data centers could use up to 1,050 TWh of electricity by 2030).