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VA data center moratorium should be left up to communities, Spanberger says
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger says local communities should decide whether to block AI data center projects, instead of implementing a statewide moratorium. This comes as Loudoun County considers a pause on data center expansion.
ASHBURN, Va. - Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is pushing back against the idea of a statewide moratorium on AI data centers.
What we know:
At a stop in northern Virginia on Thursday, Spanberger said the decision to build or block data centers should be left up to the individual communities.
Loudoun County is one of those communities debating a potential pause on data center expansion.
By the numbers:
Loudoun County has become the unofficial data center capitol of the world. Currently, there are approximately 250 centers across the county, with 100 more in the works.
They process much of the world's internet traffic, including AI and cloud computing.
What they're saying:
Supervisor Juli Briskman is one of the people pushing for the moratorium.
"We have to stop these big corporations from running roughshod over our county," Briskman said. "We can stop them from gobbling up all the land that we can use for higher and better reasons."
Briskman says that the proliferation of data centers goes against why many choose to make Loudoun County home.
"It feels like we've industrialized our county. And that's not why people move to Loudoun County," she said. "People move to Loudoun County for the schools, first of all. They move to Loudoun County to own their dream home. And they don't want their dream home to be next to a data center."
The other side:
Spanberger has pushed back against calls for a blanket, statewide moratorium.
"We have seen localities in Virginia that may choose to within their locality not welcome data centers, in some cases, actually create a moratorium. That is a local choice," Spanberger said. "There are also localities that continue to welcome data centers, continue to have projects underway. So I think from a statewide standpoint, the thing that I want ot drive on in partnership with the General Assembly is enrusing that Virginia is setting the highest standard possible."
Stafford data center paused over concerns of enslaved peoples' graves
A proposed 99-acre data center project along Eskimo Hill Road is on pause following a vote by the Stafford County Board of Supervisors to defer applications for the Potomac Creek Campus development.
The backstory:
In July, Stafford County supervisors suspended construction of a data center due to concerns that the facility was being built on the graves of enslaved people.
There are also growing concerns the centers have on the power grid, after a transmission line fault caused multiple data centers to suddenly go dark just several weeks ago.
What's next:
Currently, the county Board of Supervisors says it "does not have the legal authority to implement a moratorium on new data center applications" because of Virginia law.
The board is asking staff members to investigate a way for them to be able to pause applications for data centers and utility substations, while also working on new zoning and comprehensive plans.
The Source: Information in this story is from Loudoun County and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.