More than a dozen environmental organizations gathered Wednesday in front of an active data-center construction site in Hanover County, demanding that Virginia lawmakers hit pause on new data-center development across the commonwealth. The group, calling itself Pause to Protect, wants state legislators to act when the General Assembly convenes for its 2027 session, arguing that the breakneck pace of construction is outstripping protections for water, land, and electricity customers.
According to wric.com, the coalition is calling for specific protections involving water and land use, clean energy requirements, and safeguards for electricity customers. The press conference took place in front of an active data-center construction site in Hanover County, a region where the county's Board of Supervisors previously voted to approve a 1,200-acre data-center technology park north of Ashland, according to a notice from Hanover County government. As reported by WJLA, the coalition met in the parking lot of an animal shelter in Ashland, and members argue the Hanover County data center was approved with little-to-no public input.
Groups Push a Detailed Policy Platform
The coalition's policy platform, detailed by selc.org, calls on data centers to fully disclose their water and energy use throughout the entire planning, design, construction and operational phases. The platform also calls for limiting the use of water for cooling, particularly in water scarcity areas. Per WJLA, Blair St. Ledger-Olson said the governor and legislature need to pause data center construction to protect Virginia.
Jay Ford said the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which covers 64,000 square miles, is at ground zero in data center development, according to WJLA's reporting. The outlet also reports that Virginia faced historic strains on water resources in 2026, with the state's rivers and groundwater described as under historic stress. Julie Bolthouse described Virginia as one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the nation, telling WJLA that Virginia localities have approved about 280 million square feet of data center space — a figure she compared to roughly 1,500 Walmart Supercenters or 5,000 football fields.
Lawmakers Signal a Fight Over a Moratorium
Virginia lawmakers are considering pausing the state's data-center buildout, and WJLA reports that the General Assembly is experiencing shifting opinions on the issue amid changing voter sentiment shown in the midterm elections. Sen. Russet Perry, a Democrat representing Loudoun County, and Sen. Glen Sturtevant, a Republican representing Chesterfield, are expected to back bills recommending a data-center moratorium in the coming legislative session, according to WJLA. Separately, a bill known as SB 843, listed on the Virginia Legislative Information System, would reportedly prohibit a locality from granting final approval, on or after July 1, 2027, for certain rezoning, special-exception, special-use-permit, site-plan, or plan-of-development applications tied to siting a data center — though its final language and status remain to be confirmed.
Nate Benforado said Virginians pay more for power because of data centers, which receive favorable terms, per WJLA's reporting. The same report notes that Virginia has 685 data centers built or in the planning stages, and that the commonwealth is considered the world's leading data-center market. The coalition's position holds that Virginia data-center projects must protect the commonwealth's power, water, and land, WJLA reports.
Spanberger Opposes an Outright Pause
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has said she's not supportive of the idea of a pause, according to wvtf.org. WJLA reports that Spanberger has instead supported greater restrictions on the data-center industry through an executive order, while declining to back an outright pause on new construction. Elena Schlossberg, who successfully opposed a large data-center project in Prince William County, recommended that Spanberger support the anti-moratorium position, according to WJLA's reporting.
A Trend Playing Out Beyond Virginia
The debate in Virginia lands amid a broader national reckoning over data centers at the ballot box. Datacenters were on the ballot in elections in at least 40 jurisdictions across 10 states, according to The Guardian. Voters approved nearly every datacenter moratorium that was on the ballot, dozens in total, with one notable exception in Hardwood, North Dakota, the paper reported. In Ohio, at least 14 municipalities passed bans or restrictions on datacenter development, while eight municipalities in Maine passed temporary moratoriums of their own.
The stakes extend to the power grid as well. Dominion Energy expects that 51% of its electricity will be sold to data centers by 2035, according to the SELC. Virginia is home to nearly 400 data centers in operation, with over 280 planned, per the Pew Research Center as reported by Virginia Mercury. Residents have begun pushing back on data-center developments in communities around the state, according to WHRO, a sentiment that appears to be fueling the coalition's push as the 2027 legislative session approaches.
