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A Bill … relating to data centers; state permitting; local approval; moratorium; sunset. (SB 843, VA)
Prohibits state agencies and local government from granting final approval for data center development or siting applications, permits, etc. from July 1, 2027, and, for state agencies, construction of electric infrastructure for a data center. Moratorium to expire on July 1, 2030.
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Health Issues Caused by Data Center Noise
This compiled letter argues against locating a data center near homes and schools, citing seven studies and news reports on health effects from low-frequency data center noise. The sources link the noise to sleep disruption, stress and reduced cognitive performance, and put the cost of soundproofing classrooms at a nearby elementary school at $20 million.
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Environmental Racism and AI Data Centers *
This SSRN working paper argues that AI data centers produce two distinct patterns of harm: back-end training facilities cluster in historically redlined, vulnerable communities as ecological "sacrifice zones," while front-end inference centers near urban cores drive "techgentrification," tax giveaways and the displacement of working-class residents, illustrated through the case of Loudoun County, Virginia.
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Case Study: Culpeper County — The Quiet Successor
This case study examines how Culpeper County, Virginia accumulated roughly 12 to 13 million square feet of data center development and 2,435 megawatts of power requests without a single major public fight. The report traces the outcome to a 2021 zoning decision that made data centers a by-right use across a 690-acre corridor, avoiding the…
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Silent Springs and AI Winters: Navigating the Environmental Impacts of AI Data Centers
This Georgetown thesis compares AI data center impacts across three counties: Maricopa, Arizona; Loudoun, Virginia; and San Francisco, California. It finds current governance frameworks miss local conditions and leave affected communities out of decisions, and proposes a new framework called the AI Mendelow Stakeholder Supplement. This framework pairs top-down regulation with bottom-up organizing to center…
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A Summary of the Current State of Data Center Electricity and Water Demand and Its Effects on Utilities
This paper traces how much electricity and water US data centers consume and how that demand is reshaping utility costs by showing the electricity use and water consumption growth since 2014. The report ties that growth to rising bills in areas with dense data center clusters, citing a 12 percent annual increase in Virginia's Loudoun…
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Data Centers in Virginia
This hub from the Piedmont Environmental Council maps existing and proposed data centers across Virginia and tracks their infrastructure impacts, including new transmission line proposals and pollution from diesel backup generators used at many facilities.
Exposing AI Data Center Threats and Harms