Virginia is the global epicenter for data centers. The recent explosive growth comes from Big Tech’s pursuit of AI which requires high energy load data centers. A single AI data center campus can consume the same amount of electricity as a large city placing enormous pressure on utilities to build new power plants, transmission lines, and substations!

But because there is no state law or policy that governs whether a mega data center facility should be permitted, these decisions are made at the local level. Without state level review, this wild west approach is placing our energy infrastructure at risk threatening reliability (brown/black outs), driving up costs for families, undercutting Virginia’s clean energy laws, and degrading our communities and public health. HB155 is a game changer! The bill introduces oversight at the state level, requiring a certificate of operation from the State Corporation Commission, for every high load data center facility. The bill dictates criteria the SCC must address before it can issue a certificate of operation including consideration of impacts to grid reliability, electricity rates to families and other customers, environment and public health impacts, and alignment with state clean energy laws. The bill requires that an applicant must demonstrate that it has secured energy storage, zero carbon resources, or other actions to offset its electricity demand during peak hours as a precondition. Our legislators can’t kick this ball down the road without irreversible consequences