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Virginia Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Virginia — updated daily.
Recent Virginia data center news
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Addressing Data Center Growth Constraints Key to U.S. Innovation, Leadership in AI
The article discusses the growing demand for data centers driven by AI, highlighting that U.S. data centers will account for 6.6% of electricity consumption by 2028. Key limitations for growth include chip supply, tariffs, and electricity reliability. The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act aims to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing which won’t operationalize until 2028-2029. Hyperscalers are exploring power models to manage the increasing energy needs, with a shift towards renewable sources for cooling and power supply.
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Legislation proposes state policies on large data centers
The Minnesota House has introduced legislation to regulate large data centers, which are expected to demand significant resources, including electricity and water. The bill, HF2928, proposed by Rep. Patty Acomb, aims to ensure environmental reviews and establish energy efficiency measures while incorporating consumer protection provisions. It has provisions for water use caps and requires data centers to pay fees for energy conservation programs, reflecting a push for sustainable practices in the tech industry.
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US AI Policy Is Stuck in Training Mode
The article discusses the misalignment of U.S. AI policy with the current state of AI innovation. The U.S. policymakers have prioritized access to AI compute primarily for model training while failing to adapt to the increasing importance of inference in AI performance. Companies like Microsoft are building data centers abroad to support localized inference in AI systems. The U.S. energy policy also emphasizes support for energy production for AI training while overlooking the need for energy-efficient inference models.
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Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pa. Public Utility Commission Sets Hearing on AI Data Centers’ Impacts on Electricity
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced a hearing on April 24, 2025, to evaluate the impact of AI data centers on the state’s electricity infrastructure and economy. PUC Chairperson Stephen DeFrank emphasized the need to protect consumers while facilitating economic growth and technological advancement. The commission will investigate two major data center projects: Constellation Energy’s $1.6 billion restart of its nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island to provide carbon-free electricity for Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services’ $650 million data center purchase near a nuclear plant that will consume energy equivalent to 900,000 homes.
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Landing a data center is worth the environmental tradeoffs, Illinois towns say
The proposed data center by Equinix, Inc., will occupy 340 acres in Minooka, Illinois, requiring 3 million gallons of water daily and 700 megawatts of electricity. This demand constitutes a significant portion of Minooka’s drinkable water allocation. Mayor Ric Offerman stated that the project could generate substantial tax revenue and jobs for the village. However, concerns persist regarding the environmental impact and the state’s commitment to ending fossil fuel use by 2045. Equinix is negotiating to finalize its plans, aiming to begin construction by 2026 and complete the site by 2034.
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A capacidade dos Data Centers vem aumentando, assim como o investimento e o uso da terra
The article discusses the increasing capacity and investment in Data Centers in the United States, attributed mainly to a surge in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence applications. By the end of 2024, Data Centers had reached over 92 GW of capacity, with additional monthly growth surpassing 7 GW. Major companies like Meta and Amazon are investing heavily in renewable energy to meet their electricity consumption, including significant solar projects in Texas and Mississippi. The trend highlights the urgent market expansion and infrastructure challenges for energy supply.
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Mapping the Spread of Data Centers in the U.S.
The New York Times created a visualization mapping the locations of data centers across the United States, based on 2022 data from the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit energy research organization based in Washington, D.C. Each yellow dot on the map indicates a data center, showing significant clusters in Northern Virginia and Northern Texas. These patterns suggest that factors such as lower land costs, property taxes, labor rates, and energy prices are influencing the locations where companies choose to build data centers.
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Data center capacity soaring, along with investment and land use
The report from Wood Mackenzie revealed that U.S. data centers exceeded 92 GW of capacity by the end of 2024, with a monthly addition of 7 GW in the fourth quarter. Virginia and Texas are leading markets. Meta committed to 100% renewable energy usage with the construction of the 505 MWdc Hanson solar facility. Amazon secured capacity for the 100 MW Ragsdale Solar Park in Mississippi, part of the burgeoning infrastructure in data centers associated with growing electricity demand and AI workloads.
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Why Geothermal is the Hot Ticket to Low-Carbon Data Centers?
The article discusses the potential of geothermal energy for powering low-carbon data centers.
Tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are expanding quickly, and data centers’ electricity demand is projected to rise significantly, reaching between 325 and 580 TWh by 2028.
The U.S. Department of Energy revealed that geothermal energy could avoid up to 516 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions by 2050.
Innovations in Enhanced Geothermal Systems are making it feasible for data centers to generate clean and reliable power, potentially supplying up to 15% of power in key data center hubs.
Major investments are being made by companies, including a partnership between Alphabet and NV Energy to secure 115 MW of geothermal power. -
LS Power Adding Gas-Fired Capacity as Part of PJM Initiative
LS Power announced its application to build approximately 700 MW of new generation supply as part of PJM’s Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI) aimed at connecting high-reliability projects to the grid. The company is converting two peaking facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania to baseload combined-cycle plants and plans capacity uprates at other existing facilities in Virginia and Pennsylvania. The total investment for these projects exceeds $1 billion, with completion anticipated sooner than larger projects.