Silicon Valley may be America’s tech capital on the West Coast, but Northern Virginia holds that title in the east. As the historical backbone of the internet and just a stone’s throw from Washington, D.C., the region has become a favored destination for major tech companies to set up shop.
Thanks in large part to generous tax breaks from state lawmakers, the region has become home to the nation’s largest cluster of data centers — some 275 and counting, with Amazon planning $35 billion in data centers across Loudoun and Prince William counties over the next 15 years. While many elected leaders have rolled out the welcome mat for these centers, there are concerns that Virginia’s ratepayers will be left footing the bill for the increase in energy consumption.
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The Department of Energy found that data centers consume up to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial facility. In Virginia, data centers are already Dominion Energy’s biggest user of commercial power, consuming more than 21% of the local energy supply and poised to hit 50% by 2038. To keep the next generation of centers running, the state’s power grid will need huge upgrades, including new transmission lines, transformers and breakers.
Despite this, Gov. Glenn Youngkin granted Amazon $140 million in incentives and 15 years of tax breaks to expand its data center presence in the state. At the same time, Dominion called data center growth a “key driver” in its latest Integrated Resource Plan, despite citing the massive energy demand it will put on the state.
With the incentives the company is receiving, Amazon will not be held accountable for footing their entire electric bill or these upgrades. Instead, ratepayers will. In fact, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) has estimated that the average household in the region could see their electric bill double by 2035.
Despite Youngkin’s open embrace of data centers, there are thankfully lawmakers in the state willing to stick up for ratepayers — but they are reaching an impasse.
While numerous bills pertaining to data center reform were introduced during the 2024 General Assembly session, most of these were either defeated or punted to 2025. The last bill standing was House Bill 338, which focused on site assessment permits to evaluate a data center’s potential impact on water usage and carbon emissions. The bill passed the House this year, and will be up for further consideration in the Senate next session.
Noise complaints, environmental concerns and quality-of-life issues have all surrounded the data center controversy in Northern Virginia. But voters’ biggest concerns are their wallets, and when their electric bills start to skyrocket, the political effect of these data centers will be felt.
Youngkin and other Amazon-friendly politicians throughout the Old Dominion need to think about whether their loyalties lie with Big Tech or the constituents who control their time in office.
From the Archives: DuPont
In 1927, DuPont purchased a plot of land near Richmond to build a rayon factory. That year, a front page story captured local excitement for the factory and the jobs it would provide. The headline read “Industrial Victory for Richmond Army of Employees Will Be Recruited for Tremendous Enterprise.”
The plant, which opened two years later, was named the Spruance Plant in honor of rayon pioneer William Spruance. In 1930, the factory also began producing cellophane since it had a similar production process to rayon.
During World War II, the plant produced war supplies for paper cellophane, cellophane and rayon yarn. The war time contracts led to peak employment at the plant with 4,450 workers. In the 1950s and 60s the plant ceased production of rayon in Richmond however, they continued to produce cellophane and other materials including Tyvek and Teflon. The facilities were expanded in the 1980s and 90s and continue production today.
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