Tell Decision-Makers: Don’t Let Data Centers Put Virginia’s Future at Risk


Use this link to contact your legislators to tell them you want action to protect our region from reckless data center development. The unyielding expansion of data centers in Virginia can only result in more pollution and increased energy costs suffered by families. Full stop. 

Virginia is home to the largest concentration of data centers on earth with no sign of expansion slowing. It is simply not possible to power the proposed new data centers without adding new energy infrastructure like transmission lines and power stations – expensive infrastructure that forces ratepayers to foot the bill, not the data center industry. To add insult to injury, Dominion Energy is also using data center expansion as an excuse to build a new fleet of fossil fuel plants, driving up harmful pollution while forcing customers to pay for the construction of projects that make our communities sick and destroy our climate.

Data center development doesn’t have to come at the expense of our health, climate, and economic well being. But responsible development requires policy protections. 

Tell your representatives to protect Virginians from reckless data center development today!

“Stop putting us and the environment last and data centers first. Please don’t give away the only chance we have”, asks Pleasant Valley resident Kate Maisel of Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors.

Given the weak approach that the BOS has taken to regulate data centers, Sierra Club GFG has advocated to strengthen county’s underlying environmental codes and policies and to strengthen this ZOA in the following ways:

1. We ask you to support the amendments, adopted by the Planning Commission at its June 6th meeting, to strengthen the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA):

• Require data centers be located at least 1 mile from a metro station entrance.  
• Require that noisy and polluting data center equipment be setback at least 500 feet from adjacent residences. 
• Preserve the provision that clearly states that new rules in the ZOA would apply to submitted, but not yet approved, data center site application

2.  We ask that all data center developments be subject to a more thorough Special Exception review.

3. Increasing setbacks to at least 500 feet for adjacent residential, parks, public lands, schools and other public amenities

4. We ask for a commitment to expedite the adoption of policies to mitigate the significant carbon, energy and water resource impacts associated with data centers.

Photo credit: Piedmont Environmental Council

• Cutting down on emissions by traveling close to home
• Giving you a sense of belonging in your own community
• Opening you socially to more people in your area
• Supporting local projects and people
• Teaching you more about your community and other ways to help
• The personal connections you can gain from volunteering locally can open you up to a wide range of advantages. 

Every voice matters. Use yours to stop harmful data center expansion today.  

Public Opinion on the Data Center Invasion by Meghan Violet Great Falls Group Newsletter Editor “Stop putting us and the environment last and data centers first. Please don’t give away the only chance we have”, asks Pleasant Valley resident Kate Maisel of Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors. Photo credit: Nature Forward Data centers store network connections and computing equipment needed for the increasing demand of internet and artificial intelligence applications in our growing technological world. Requiring considerable amounts of energy, these centers must be located near large electrical facilities or substations and connected transmission lines. As these facilities advance into Fairfax County, so do threats of environmental and social complications. To address this, the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development staff were asked by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) to update the county zoning ordinance with an amendment (ZOA) as it pertains to data centers. The zoning ordinance manages the use of land, and raised debates within the county.   On July 16, 2024, 65 residents and data center stakeholders offered testimony in front of the Fairfax County BOS regarding the proposed zoning ordinance updates. Some agreed with the plan, highlighting the importance of data centers for economic value, while others demanded increased restrictions around the environment and residential wellbeing. In the four and a half hours of public input, the following major concerns were addressed by county residents and environmental advocates. In the escalating deterioration of Earth’s climate, data centers pose new and uncharted environmental risks. Their high energy demand relies on nonrenewable energy sources like coal that increase carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses within the atmosphere, trapping heat and warming the Earth’s surface. If data centers are not properly regulated, it may be impossible for Fairfax County to reach its Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.  The backup power to maintain data centers also contributes to environmental fears. Diesel generators, considered “the industry standard” by the county, not only release large amounts of carbon dioxide, particulate matter and nitric oxides, but can negatively impact water quality through possible spills or leaks. Additionally, to keep equipment cool, data centers are heavily water-intensive. With Fairfax County's current drought warning advisory, many residents, such as Lynne Mulston, the president of the Reston Citizens Association, are wondering, “who is going to get the water first? Data centers or the residents of Fairfax County?” Fairfax County residents can take action here! . Full article

Data Centers are Killing Renewable Energy by Meghan Violet Great Falls Group Newsletter Editor “With the climate clock ticking, we have no more time to lose.” Ivy Main, the Renewable Energy co-Chair for the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, is troubled by the intrusion of data centers into our already aching climate, as they work to reverse years of fossil fuel clean up efforts. With renewable sources unable to meet energy needs for the rising data center demand, leading companies like Dominion Energy, the largest electrical utility in Virginia, ignore the state's zero-carbon goal. They announced they will re-open shuttered coal plants and plan to build new fossil fuel natural gas facilities while the environment continues to wither. Photo credit: Piedmont Environmental Council The impending death of our climate will affect us all, yet we live in a world dominated by powerful companies who place profit over life–over their own lives, which will be shortened if they continue to favor wealth over our planet’s survival. What to do then, when it seems a losing battle between us and money-hungry corporations who remain shrouded in environmental apathy? We must pressure leaders to pass legislation that forces these companies to make significant changes in how they care for the environment. We must focus on ways to incentivize clean energy initiatives and transparency because if we do not, no one will. In 2023, legislation proposing a data center impact assessment in Virginia was rejected. However, in the fall of last year, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) decided to conduct the study regardless. Since the assessment is not projected to be complete until December of this year, proposed legislation to mitigate the environmental impacts of data centers have all been dismissed. Why the delayed study has not paused data center growth, but has limited our protections from said growth is very telling. Alas, there is still hope in the 2025 legislative session to gain safeguards from the advancing data center problem.  Full article

Volunteering is good for the environment! We have new opportunities for volunteers in the Sierra Club Great Falls Group. See nine ideas here to find some that are a fit for you. Local volunteering for the environment helps you and your community by: Cutting down on emissions by traveling close to home Giving you a sense of belonging in your own community Opening you socially to more people in your area Supporting local projects and people Teaching you more about your community and other ways to help The personal connections you can gain from volunteering locally can open you up to a wide range of advantages.  Not only will you make new friends but you’ll also be able to develop relationships in the long-term for as long as you live in the area. You learn more about what’s going on in your area, like events, groups and clubs, and more.  ​​​​​​​See the opportunities

Power for the People Virginia Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia. Amazon claims to power all its operations with renewable energy. Yes, and I’m the Queen of Sheba. AI could usher in a golden age of technological breakthroughs – if it doesn’t kill us first