The General Assembly Continues to Fail Virginians on Data Centers

Instead of taking action to impose clean energy requirements, prohibit on-site polluting gas plants and limit pollution caused by backup diesel generators, legislators extended the “no strings attached” annual $1.9 billion tax giveaway to the wealthiest companies in the world in the 2026 budget. All the while, Virginians are facing rising utility bills, deteriorating air quality, impacts to public health, strains on communities and natural resources. And although the budget establishes a data center energy consumption fee, it is limited to collecting $600 million per year, failing to compensate for the lost tax revenue in 2025 or account for the fact that the tax giveaway is predicted to increase well beyond $1.9 billion. The budget disappointment comes after the General Assembly failed to pass a single truly significant data center reform bill in the 2026 session - despite scores of bills introduced

According to recent polls, large majorities of Virginians oppose unregulated data center development and their overwhelmingly negative impacts on communities. (See Public Policy Polling poll results, Washington Post-Schar School poll and Hart poll on tax exemptions.)

In short, the General Assembly has turned its back on the people of Virginia and elevated corporate profits over Virginia communities already facing rising electricity bills, air and water pollution, strained land and water resources, and the unchecked expansion of an out-of-control industry.

Enough is enough! It's time to demand that our legislators convene town halls on data centers. It's time to tell them we expect them to pass meaningful data center reform legislation in 2027 by placing data centers under robust State Corporation Commission oversight and conditioning any tax incentives on clean energy requirements, a ban on on-site gas plants, and strict limits on diesel generator pollution. If legislators are unwilling to require these safeguards, the tax exemptions should be repealed. And if the GA fails to act, we must urge legislators to support a moratorium on new data center approvals, permits, and grid connections until adequate protections are in place.

Your letter will go to 36 key legislators on this issue - not our champions, but others who have positions of power.