Governor Spanberger’s Energy Plan Highlights Need to Rein in Data Centers

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger on Thursday released a comprehensive energy policy roadmap that features options prioritizing transitions to cleaner energy—while forecasting data centers will likely eat up a massive chunk of the Commonwealth’s energy needs and capacity in the coming years.

The proposal thankfully includes positive priorities like establishing a state-based renewable energy marketplace and prioritizing public health when building out our energy infrastructure—but also lays bare the sobering fact that data centers and their energy use must be reined in if Virginia hopes to have a sustainable energy future.

Projections forecast that the power needed to accommodate anticipated data center growth would eclipse residential use in Virginia in the coming years.

Data centers are harming Virginians and our communities. They’re threatening the state’s water supply and helping send power bills ever higher. Even the companies behind them are pumping the brakes on associated technologies over safety concerns.

The transition to clean energy is important for the health of Virginia’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. About a third of the nitrogen pollution that ends up in the Bay starts as air pollution from power plants and other sources.

Data centers are making the clean energy transition harder by straining the grid and stretching thin Virginia’s already limited energy supplies. There is no realistic clean, sustainable energy future for Virginia without strong guardrails for data centers to ensure they’re transparent throughout their lifecycles, offset their water use, and fuel their operations with clean energy.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Policy Manager Jay Ford issued the following statement:

“Governor Spanberger and her team should be commended for laying out an energy roadmap that promotes public health and Virginia’s transition to clean energy. This plan prioritizes the health and economic well-being of Virginians and represents a model for how state energy planning should be done.

“However, this plan also makes clear that unchecked data center growth is swiftly pushing Virginia toward an unsustainable set of choices for our energy future. All scenarios in the proposal involve significant reliance on fossil fuels to meet ever-skyrocketing anticipated power demands for data centers.

“Virginians should not have to sacrifice their health and well-being to make the wealthiest companies in human history even more profitable.

“This plan makes clear that lawmakers need to build on the governor’s strong Data Center Accountability Framework and act aggressively in the coming 2027 legislative session to rein in these out-of-control energy and water guzzlers.”