By Laura Quigley

The number of data centers is expanding rapidly in Northern Virginia, an area already considered the data center capital of the world. With little regulatory oversight, data centers threaten climate goals, communities, and conservation efforts.

Data centers house the unseen machinations of cloud services, each containing as many as 100,000 servers that process, store, and transmit digital data. From streaming to AI learning, data centers are used to keep our digital world running.

But their existence comes at a cost. 

The facilities’ substantial footprints cover large parcels of land. In Northern Virginia, the construction of data centers accelerated during the pandemic, resulting in over 150 data centers in Loudon County alone - and more pending approval.

In order to operate, the centers require upgraded electrical infrastructure and massive amounts of energy. The large corporations using these facilities are not currently required to contribute to infrastructure upgrades. Instead, these costs are subsidized by consumers through their monthly electric bills.

In addition, the energy requirements of Northern Virginia data centers do not come from renewable sources, but from natural gas facilities. While many areas of the US are moving away from natural gas and coal, Virginia’s energy company, Dominion, has plans to open a new natural gas plant in Chesterfield in order to meet increased energy demands.

Virginia’s Piedmont Environmental Council recently released a video about data centers in Northern Virginia and their negative impact on the environment, consumers, and the hope to attain climate goals. Watch below: