Impacts of Loudoun’s Data Center Industry
Loudoun is widely considered the “data center capital of the world”, hosting over 30 million currently operational data center square feet with another 5 million under development. While the County coffers have been enriched by the property taxes from data center construction, only recently have we begun to realize the externalized cost of our heavy investment in this industry.
Power
- Data center facilities are placing a significant strain on the local power grid.
- Inevitable increased electricity costs will be passed on to the rate-payers.
- New high-voltage transmission lines through our towns and neighborhoods are required to bring the power to these data center facilities.
Natural Resources
- Fossil-fuel backup generator operation creates significant air pollution.
- Cumulative water and heat pollution from multiple data centers significantly impact our freshwater resources and our wildlife habitat.
Quality of Life
- Data center developers are willing to pay high prices for land, which has made it difficult for other businesses to locate in the area.
- Data centers make up half of Loudoun’s tax base, so changes in the data center market can significantly impact the county’s finances.
- Noise pollution is a problem when siting centers near residential areas or sensitive wildlife.
Greening Data Centers
In recognition of these challenges, the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition formed in 2023 to seek Virginia state regulatory oversight of this industry whose resource demands and local planning challenges were exceeding the available local and regional resources. Loudoun Climate Project is an active member of this Coalition.
Model Green Data Centers
The good news is there is plenty of opportunity for data center proposals to minimize their impact on the resources they consume. The available technologies and tools cost more up front, so incentives and regulation are necessary. Yes, model green data center projects are more expensive to build and power, because they account for the externalized cost of their effect on the local and global community.
Best Practices
 POWER EFFICIENCYuse improved software and hardware tools (DCIM) to optimize computer performance and efficiency |  REDUCED GREENHOUSE GASSESdecarbonize backup power in cooperation with clean, renewable energy from incentivized power utilities |
 COOLING EFFICIENCYcooling the computers comprises a huge percentage of the massive power draw from data centers |  GREEN CONSTRUCTIONLEED or BREAM-UK standards to incorporate best practices, reduced waste |
Next Steps
The JLARC Data Center study, commissioned by the State of Virginia in the 2024 legislative session to review the impacts of the data center industry, was published on December 2024. It paints a picture of an industry that isn’t sustainable, is undermining Virginia’s climate goals, and has gotten out of control. We expect our elected state and local representatives to enact legislation in 2025 that incentivizes this industry to take advantage of the latest technology to reduce their environmental impact.
2025 VA Legislation
The Data Center Reform Coalition has organized our strategy into Four Pillars of Data Center Reform for the 2025 General Assembly.
- Enhanced transparency –
- Local Disclosure: baseline set of information on energy use, water consumption, and emissions that localities must require of proposed data center developments.
- State Reporting: disclosure of energy use, water consumption, and emissions of operating data centers.
- State oversight – Establish a state review and permitting process for large data center proposals in addition to the local approval process to evaluate regional impacts that are affecting neighboring jurisdictions and state policies.
- Ratepayer Protection – Prevent residents and businesses from subsidizing the billions of dollars in costs associated with the data center industry’s infrastructure energy needs.
- Incentivizing sustainability – Connect data centers’ tax benefits to clean energy and efficiency standards to reduce costs and pollution.
Your Turn
There will be opportunities for each of us to write to our State and Loudoun representatives to encourage the regulation of this industry for the public good! Attend LCP monthly meetings or sign up for the updates through the Loudoun Climate Project Newsletter and Sierra Club VA chapter advocacy emails.
More Resources
Data Centers and Energy Demand – PEC
Piedmont Environmental Council lays out the challenges we face resulting from the activities of the data center industry. PEC staff does an excellent job of organizing the advocacy towards Data Center Reform.
Data Center Development – Our Committment – VCN
The explosive growth of data centers threatens to derail state efforts to meet climate goals, improve air and water quality, advance land conservation, and protect national and state parks. Find policy papers, and tune into events and actions on this Virginia Conservation Network web page.
Virginia’s Data Center Burden – Sierra Club
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter lines up the facts and FAQ’s about the dangers of unrelenting data center growth in our region. Sign up here for issue updates and action opportunities.
Power to the People – Ivy Main’s blog
“Virginia energy policy made interesting.” Get informed or fired up with some of Ivy’s recent posts, or browse the 12 years of reporting she’s chalked up in her career as a lawyer, editor and Sierra Club activist.