Virginia Data Center Intel

Recent Virginia data center news

• Jul 1, 2026

  Against the Wind: Inside the Completion of America’s Largest Offshore Wind Plant

  Dominion Energy has announced that the 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project delivered first power to the Virginia grid in March 2026.

  • Project milestone and status: CVOW achieved a first power milestone in March 2026 while turbine installation and commissioning continue across the 176-turbine commercial array (Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD). The project is a 2.6 GW regulated, utility-owned asset with an updated budget of about $11.4 billion and an expected service (COD) mid-2027 per NextEra; Dominion previously sold a 50% noncontrolling stake to Stonepeak in 2024 (transaction closed Oct 2024, generating about $2.6 billion for Dominion).
  • Permitting, risks, and permits: CVOW cleared the federal permitting stack (BOEM final EIS Sept 2023; ROD Oct 2023; Construction and Operations Plan and Army Corps permit Jan 2024; EPA OCS air preconstruction permit Apr 2024) and completed FAST-41 coordination, survived a 90-day DOI stop-work order (Dec 22, 2025) and obtained a preliminary injunction (Jan 16, 2026) to resume work. Dominion also holds a separate CVOW-South BOEM lease won Aug 14, 2024 for $17.7 million (approx. 176,505 acres) that could support ~800 MW in the 2030s.
• Jun 30, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - June 30, 2026

  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) recaps Expo2026 panels and highlights recent policy developments.

  • Main announcement: EESI summarizes the 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum (Expo2026), providing links to full recorded panels on topics including permitting reform, energy affordability, data centers, and building and grid resilience; the newsletter links to EESI’s YouTube recordings and lists speakers and organizations for each session.
  • Policy and event updates: The newsletter reports the Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft Farm Bill (PDF link provided) and notes the House passed H.R.7567 in April; it also records recent congressional actions including passage of S.629 (Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act) through the House, passage of S.4822 (Saving the Ocean Observatories Initiative Act of 2026) in the Senate, reintroduction of S.4867 (Small Farm Conservation Act), and introduction of S.4870 to reauthorize Earth MRI; it lists upcoming EESI briefings on July 16, 2026 (Nitrogen pollution research roadmap) and July 24, 2026 (drought impacts).
• Jun 29, 2026

  Send SCC Comments: Expanded Southwest Mountains Transmission Line

  Dominion Energy has applied to rebuild and expand the Charlottesville-Gordonsville 230 kV transmission line into a double-circuit, driven by recent data center requests.

  • Project details: Dominion Energy submitted an application on April 23, 2026 (SCC Case No. PUR-2026-00050) to wreck, rebuild and expand 15.8 miles of an existing single-circuit 230 kV line between Charlottesville and Gordonsville into a double-circuit 230 kV line; PEC reports the proposal is driven by 26 data center requests in Louisa and Culpeper counties and would install steel towers ~2–3x the height of existing wood structures.
  • Background and next steps: PEC is advocating for consideration of alternatives and mitigation including undergrounding portions of the line, use of lowest feasible towers with dull brown weathering steel, minimizing construction disturbance, and submitting comments or requesting a public hearing to the SCC by July 8, 2026 (instructions and sample comment/hearing request letters provided).
• Jun 29, 2026

  Data center developer Black Chamber looks to buy Virginia church next to planned AWS campus

  Manassas Church of the Brethren is weighing an offer from Black Chamber Partners to buy its 7-acre property at 10047 Nokesville Road.

  • Offer and church response: The church received an offer from Black Chamber to acquire the 7-acre site at 10047 Nokesville Road; Rev. Mandy North said the congregation’s “initial gut was to decline the offer,” adding “We aren’t for sale. We’ve been in ministry for 130 years. We still have 130 years of ministry here.” The value of the proposal has not been shared. If the church sells, it would seek to build a new church on 5 acres at the Landing at Cannon Branch (land owned by the City of Manassas), though the city has indicated interest in more commercial users for that site.
  • Background and nearby transactions:Black Chamber (founded 2019, data-center focused private equity/developer) has acquired 12 acres between the church and Dean Drive for around $38.8 million (via Nova Pineapple Farms LLC), equating to roughly $3 million per acre. The church property is zoned industrial; Micron operates across the street and Amazon is planning a nearby data center campus and owns multiple local plots; Black Chamber is known to be active in Loudoun and Prince William counties and is working with Amazon on some projects.
• Jun 29, 2026

  Details revealed for Google's Project Skye data center campus in Chesterfield County, Virginia

  Google has filed details of its planned “Project Skye” data center campus with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

  • Project details: The filing describes a campus on 887.7 acres (south of Genito Road, east of Moseley Road, north of Duval Road) proposing five data center buildings, three substations, plus parking, roads, utilities, and stormwater management facilities. The public notice is recorded as NAO-2026-00282 / VMRC-26-0360.
  • Context and timeline: Project Skye is part of Google’s broader $9 billion Virginia investment program announced in 2025; Google has had development activity in the Richmond/central-eastern Virginia area since 2017 and other local projects referenced include Project Loch, Project Peanut, a Sharpless Enterprises 181-acre campus approved in March 2024, and a land purchase in Botetourt County in June 2025.
• Jun 29, 2026

  The Blue-Collar Gold Rush in Data Centers

  DataBank says the data center industry is facing a skilled labor shortage and is expanding recruitment, training, and local partnerships to secure talent.

  • Main action: DataBank is investing in talent pipelines, workforce partnerships, and local training events (examples: an Atlanta career exploration event with nearly 20 young people; a Culpeper, VA partnership hosting 40 electrical students) to address a sector-wide shortage in skilled trades. The company cites concrete workforce metrics: a 2025 Deloitte survey finding 63% of data center executives report a shortage of skilled labor, and construction peak crew sizes rising from ~750 to 4,000+ on single campuses, with massive capacity activation expected in the second half of 2026 into 2027.
  • Background/details: DataBank emphasizes broad sourcing strategies including military veterans, trade school partnerships, and early contractor commitments; it highlights the economics of trade pathways (example: an IBEW-trained worker can earn close to six figures after four years) and frames these programs as long-term investments and immediate operational priorities tied to near-term build schedules.
• Jun 26, 2026

  Episode for June 26, 2026

  The Pennsylvania House has passed a data center ‘pause’ measure and both chambers approved repeal of the commonwealth’s sales tax break on computer equipment for data centers.

  • Main action: The Pennsylvania House and other lawmakers passed measures this week to slow data center development, including approval in both chambers to repeal the sales tax exemption on data center computer equipment and related bills tied to Governor Shapiro’s plan for “responsible” development. Brookville Borough Council separately passed a 180-day moratorium on data center development (a pause that lasts until roughly December) to give the council time to finalize local data center rules.
  • Other reporting and context: The roundup also reports that the Army Corps of Engineers‘ recent dam removal on the Monongahela River caused larger-than-expected water-level drops; researchers are trialing buoys that release an algaecide to fight harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie; environmental groups criticized recent Nippon Steel investments at U.S. Steel plants as “stopgap things to make U.S. Steel profitable in the short term”; and Pittsburgh restaurants are changing recycling, composting and waste systems. All items are presented as news summaries and local reporting rather than a single new joint announcement.
• Jun 25, 2026

  ICF Warns Grid Deliverability May Limit AI-Era Power Growth

  ICF has released a report projecting significant electricity demand growth and warning that transmission networks may be unable to deliver power to emerging load centers.

  • Demand projections: ICF projects 21% electricity demand growth by 2030 and 39% by 2035 (from 2026 levels), with peak demand up 25% by 2035; it estimates roughly 26 GW of generating capacity above minimum reliability today (≈3% of installed capacity) which could shrink to ~20 GW by 2030, and notes the cushion in PJM and ERCOT has largely disappeared. ICF also projects 445 GW of new generation additions through 2030 (solar, storage, wind, natural gas).
  • Background and near-term constraints: Investor-owned utilities are expected to spend roughly $178 billion on transmission projects between 2025 and 2028, and the Department of Energy backs plans for ~7,500 miles of new transmission by 2030, but the report warns capital spending alone will not deliver timely relief given supply chain, siting, permitting, and labor challenges; recommended near-term measures include batteries, demand flexibility, grid-enhancing technologies, phased energization, and flexible interconnection. Regions highlighted include Texas, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, Great Plains, and much of the West, and data center developers are widening site searches and negotiating energization schedules earlier.
• Jun 25, 2026

  Virginians’ Electric Bills Are on the Line – and the SCC is Deciding

  Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) urges the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to adopt a “but for” standard so data centers pay for transmission and substation costs they cause rather than shifting them to residential ratepayers.

  • Main action: PEC filed testimony (with expert witness Greg Abbott) in SCC Rider T1 (Case No. PUR-2026-00056) urging adoption of a “but for” allocation standard so that data centers pay for the transmission/substation infrastructure that would not be built “but for” their demand. The filing specifically targets allocation in the annual transmission rate case and requests that the SCC prevent residential customers from subsidizing industry infrastructure.
  • Background & key facts:Dominion Energy reported >70 GW of data center delivery requests (about 233 new substations), with contracted capacity cited at 51 GW and 27 GW committed with in-service dates before 2032; estimated substation costs are $6 billion–$12 billion. Public engagement deadlines in this matter are:
    • Public comment deadline: July 9 (select PUR-2026-00056 on SCC site)
    • Evidentiary hearing: July 14
    • Final order expected: August 1
• Jun 25, 2026

  Clouds of Data and Pollution: Gas Plants at Data Centers Threaten Public Health

  The Piedmont Environmental Council published an independent study by EmPower Analytics Group warning that the Vantage VA2 data center’s eight on-site natural gas turbines could cause substantial health damages and premature deaths.

  • PEC commissioned EmPower Analytics Group and found that when operating at maximum permitted emissionsVantage VA2’s eight gas turbines could cause $265 million–$495 million in health-related damages and 17–33 additional premature deaths over the next five years, with emissions reaching more than 2.5 million people across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. PEC notes the study models cumulative impacts and stands by its methodology despite a counter-report from DEQ.
  • Background and regulatory context: Utilities (notably Dominion Energy) face overwhelming data-center load requests totaling over 70 GW, and Dominion presented a process that could take up to 25 years for large-load customers to be served. The Vantage site was permitted via a minor source air permit (no public hearing), prompting PEC to recommend: reject on-site gas power near homes/schools; require additional approvals for behind-the-meter gas plants; and treat on-site turbines as standalone electricity-generating facilities requiring thorough public-health review.