Last year alone, data centers - owned or operated on behalf of the richest big tech companies in the world - received nearly $1.9 billion in tax exemptions from the state (Virginia Tax Exemptions for Data Centers – January 2, 2026. Without a doubt, these exemptions are the most costly incentives in the history of Virginia. Yet, data centers with their exponential energy demand are proliferating at astounding rates throughout the state, raising our electric utility bills, increasing air pollution and providing arguments for Dominion, APCo and the tech companies themselves to build more polluting gas generation plants. We must pare back the tax breaks and ensure that to the extent they continue, data centers are required to use clean (zero-carbon) electricity; phase out harmful, polluting backup diesel generators; and stop building their own fossil fuel generation plants on site. For those data centers that don’t meet these prerequisites for the tax exemption, they’ll pay sales and use tax to the State; this will increase tax revenues and help close the gap in the state budget between revenues and expenses.

Please ask Governor Spanberger, Speaker Scott, and the Budget conferees to Fix It or Nix It.