July 2026 Wires & Water Update: Virginians Are Demanding a Voice

In this update:

• Communities Want a Seat at the Table

• What New Research Is Revealing

• How Virginia Is Responding

• Development Continues Across the Commonwealth

• What You Can Do

• Learn More

  
  

New Questions, New Information, and Growing Public Engagement Are Reshaping the Conversation.

For years, Virginia's data center boom has largely been measured in megawatts, tax revenue, and economic development announcements.

This month, however, a different story emerged.

Across the Commonwealth, residents packed school auditoriums, challenged local officials, questioned environmental permits, and called for greater transparency before more projects move forward. At the same time, new information about water use, air pollution, electricity costs, and transmission planning continued to surface, giving communities more information than ever before to understand how these projects may affect them.

The conversation is changing - from whether Virginia should continue building data centers to how communities should be involved in those decisions and who bears the costs.

Communities Across Virginia Want a Seat at the Table

One of the clearest trends this month was not opposition to any single project - it was frustration that many residents felt they learned about projects only after key decisions had already been made.

Residents in King George County protested an already-approved 500-acre data center campus, saying public outreach should have happened before approvals were granted.

In Botetourt County, hundreds attended Google's first public open house to ask questions about the company's proposed campus and its potential impacts on water, traffic, and electricity demand.

Large public meetings also drew residents in Strasburg, Prince William County, Fauquier County, Stafford County, and elsewhere, with many communities raising similar concerns about transparency, local control, and the pace of development.

In Prince William County, officials are considering one of the largest proposed data center campuses in Virginia while also discussing changes that would require more future data center projects to go through a public review process rather than being automatically allowed under existing zoning rules.

Several stories this month highlighted a broader concern: many Virginians believe communities need earlier notice, better information, and meaningful opportunities to participate before decisions become difficult - or impossible - to reverse.

Why This Matters for Nelson County

Large infrastructure projects rarely remain isolated to the locality where they are proposed. As neighboring counties debate data centers, transmission lines, substations, and supporting infrastructure, communities like Nelson have an opportunity to stay informed early and participate - both if similar proposals arise locally and if regional infrastructure decisions affect Nelson.

Read More:

• King George Residents Protest Already Approved Data Centers

• Google Tries to Answer Botetourt County Residents Concerns

• Prince William Supervisors Hope to End Data Center Overlay DistrictVirginia Town Packs School Forum

Photo Credit: People line U.S. 220 in Daleville to protest plans for a data center during Google's open house event at Lord Botetourt High School | Mason Adams Radio IQ 

New Information Is Emerging About Environmental Impacts

Another major shift this month was the amount of new information becoming available.

Virginia enacted new water reporting requirements that will require local water utilities - not data centers - to report aggregate water use, improving public understanding of one of the industry's least understood impacts.

At the same time:

• Questions continued about treated wastewater discharges from proposed facilities near Lake Anna.

• State regulators cited a data center campus in Spotsylvania County for air pollution permit violations involving backup generators.

• Additional reporting explored noise impacts experienced by residents living near existing facilities.

Educational resources are also expanding. Universities and research organizations have begun hosting public webinars examining data centers from technical, environmental, economic, and public health perspectives - reflecting growing public interest in understanding both the benefits and tradeoffs of rapid expansion.

Rather than relying on speculation, communities increasingly have access to data that can help inform local decisions.

Why This Matters for Nelson County

Understanding impacts before major projects are proposed gives communities time to ask informed questions about water supplies, emergency backup generators, transmission infrastructure, noise, and land use.

Better information helps local governments - and residents - make better decisions.

Read More:

• What’s in the water? What we know and don’t know about data center water discharge in Virginia

• New reports raise pollution questions about Virginia data centers

• New regulations beef up data centers' required water use reporting

• DEQ issued air pollution violations on Spotsylvania data center campus in 2025

• Virginia Residents Are Taking Desperate Measures to Block Out Sounds From Local Data Center

Photo Credit: In an aerial view, an Amazon Web Services data center is shown situated near single-family homes on July 17, 2024 in Stone Ridge, Virginia. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Virginia Begins Responding

While debate continues, Virginia policymakers are beginning to acknowledge that rapid data center growth requires additional oversight.

Following months of negotiations, lawmakers approved a compromise budget that creates a new energy consumption fee but stops short of ending the industry's sales tax exemption or adopting many of the environmental safeguards proposed earlier in the session.

As mentioned above, lawmakers also expanded public reporting of data center water use, reflecting a broader shift toward greater transparency and public engagement. The Governor's Office is also asking Virginians to help shape the Commonwealth's next Energy Plan. See the What You Can Do section below to learn how you can participate.

Separately, Virginia's utility regulator adopted new rules for the largest data centers. In plain language, these rules require the largest data centers to make a much larger financial commitment before utilities build new infrastructure to serve them. The goal is to reduce the risk that other electricity customers could end up paying for infrastructure if a project is delayed, downsized, or never built.

Although opinions differ on whether these actions go far enough, they represent a noticeable shift from previous years when discussions focused almost exclusively on attracting new investment.

Why This Matters for Nelson County

As Virginia's energy demand grows, statewide policy decisions increasingly influence local communities - even those without data centers.

Questions about electricity costs, new transmission infrastructure, water resources, and long-term energy planning affect every Virginian.

Read More:

• Virginia legislators advance $205 billion budget including new tax on data centers

• Prince William supervisors hope to end data center overlay district by 2027; initial talks eyed for fall

• Advocates say Virginia data center tax doesn't go far enough

• Virginia Now Makes Data Centers Post $1.5 Million A Megawatt

• Governor Spanberger Seeks Public Input for 2026 Virginia Energy Plan

Photo Credit: Members of Virginia’s Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee speak with the press in the Capitol Rotunda on June 22, 2026. The legislature advanced a $205 billion, two-year spending plan the same day. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)

Growth Continues Across Virginia

Photo credit: A proposed site plan showing the northeast section of Tuckahoe Technology Park (Courtesy Goochland County filings)

Even as lawmakers debate new policies and communities ask for greater oversight, data center development continues across the Commonwealth.

Communities across Virginia continued to grapple with major data center proposals and projects Prince William (Dulles Cloud South), Goochland (Tuckahoe Tech Park), Botetourt (Google Data Center), Chesterfield (Google’s Project Skye), Fauquier (Gigaland), and Strasburg (Project Tallmadge), demonstrating that the next chapter of Virginia's data center boom is being written far beyond Northern Virginia. Closer to home, the University of Virginia expanded its planned Fontaine Data Center from a $72 million project to an estimated $102 million investment. While designed to support university research and UVA Health - not commercial cloud computing - the expansion reflects the growing need for AI and advanced computing infrastructure in Central Virginia. 

As these projects spread, many local debates are becoming increasingly similar. Residents are asking whether the promised economic benefits outweigh potential impacts on farmland, forests, water resources, electric bills, and quality of life.

Why This Matters for Nelson County

Nelson may never host a hyperscale data center, but the infrastructure needed to support Virginia's continued expansion - new transmission lines, power generation, and regional energy planning - can extend far beyond the communities where the facilities are built.

Read More:

• County staff recommends supervisors deny massive Dulles Innovation South

• ‘Tuckahoe Tech Park’ data center campus proposed on 900-acre tract in Goochland - Richmond BizSense

• Google's Botetourt County Data Center 

• Details revealed for Google's Project Skye data center campus in Chesterfield County

• Gigaland data center developers offer millions in grants to Fauquier nonprofits

  • 2025: Facts About the Gigaland Data Center Project - The Piedmont Environmental Council

• Strasburg Proposal Highlights Growing Debate Over Self-Powered Data Centers

• University of Virginia's Planned Data Center Grows to $102M

Photo credit: FROM GREEN GABLES TO DATA CENTERS: An aerial view of a home in Green Gables, a community of estate homes on 10 acres in Catharpin, where residents have agreed to assemble their properties for another massive data center development in northwestern Prince William County | Prince Williams Times

What You Can Do

Virginia is making decisions now that will shape the Commonwealth's energy future for decades. If you'd like to get involved, here are several opportunities to participate.

#1 Help Shape Virginia's Next Energy Plan

The Governor's Office is asking Virginians to help shape the Commonwealth's next Energy Plan. We created a Friends of Nelson Guide to the 2026 Virginia Energy Plan Stakeholder Survey to make the survey easier to complete. 

Take the survey and use our guide.

#2 Speak Up on Prince William's Proposed Mega Data Center 

Prince William County will consider whether to initiate review of Dulles Cloud South, a proposed 43-million-square-foot data center campus that could require an estimated 6-12 GW of electricity. This is the earliest opportunity for public input before the proposal moves forward.

Learn more:

• The Coalition to Protect Prince William County

• Prince William supervisors hope to end data center overlay district by 2027; initial talks eyed for fall

Take action:

• Send a quick message to the Board - sample email included.

• Attend the rally 1:00 p.m. on July 7th and/or speak during the 2:00 p.m. Prince William Board of County Supervisors meeting.

#3 Attend the Rally for Data Center Reform - Richmond, VA

Virginia LCV, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, and partner organizations are organizing a rally calling for stronger oversight, transparency, and accountability for future data center development.

#4 Oppose the Proposed Cumberland Energy Center

Dominion Energy has proposed the Cumberland Energy Center, which would become the largest gas-fired power plant in Virginia. The project is intended to help meet growing electricity demand driven largely by data centers and would be paid for by Virginia ratepayers.

Learn more:

• Cumberland Energy Center Project: https://www.cumberlandcounty.virginia.gov/343/Cumberland-Energy-Center-Project

• Dominion Energy plans state's biggest gas plant in Cumberland (VPM): https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-05-11/dominion-energy-gas-plant-cumberland-energy-center-scc-cerc-hamlet

Take action:

• Sign the petition opposing the Cumberland Energy Center: 

Learn More

Learn More

Interested in learning more about the issues discussed in this month's update? These resources provide a deeper look at how data centers affect communities, energy systems, water resources, public health, and state policy.

• Watch The Exchange: Data Centers 101 Webinar Series (University of Louisville) – A free educational webinar series featuring academic experts discussing how data centers affect communities, energy, water resources, the environment, public health, economics, and public policy.

• Penn State Extension - Data Centers: A Guide to Common Questions - A plain-language guide explaining how data centers operate and addressing common community questions about energy use, water resources, land use, environmental impacts, and local planning.

Closer to Home

While Nelson County has not received a publicly announced commercial data center proposal, this month's developments offer an opportunity to learn from communities across Virginia that are already navigating these decisions. Some have rezoned land to attract data center development, while others are reconsidering existing policies or debating whether additional growth is appropriate.

Nelson's greatest advantage is time. By staying informed now, our community has the opportunity to participate before major decisions are made and thoughtfully consider whether Nelson's rural character, water resources, natural landscapes, and existing infrastructure make it an appropriate location for large-scale data center development, or whether those projects are better suited to communities that have intentionally planned and prepared for them.

As we've seen throughout Virginia this month, communities are asking for the same basic things: better information, meaningful public participation, and thoughtful planning before decisions are made. Whether or not data centers are ultimately built, informed citizens play an essential role in ensuring those decisions reflect the long-term interests of both local communities and the Commonwealth. 

Thank you for staying informed and engaged.

Wires & Waters updates compiled by Erin Palmquist for Friends of Nelson