Tag: data centers
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Digital Future – Build It the Right Way
by Chris Saxman Too often, conversations about data centers are presented as an either-or: tech companies versus local communities, or economic growth versus environmental protection. That is the wrong debate. The real challenge is whether communities, businesses, utilities, investors and public leaders can work together to support the infrastructure a growing digital economy requires while…
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Golf, Data Centers and the Water Crisis
From Rod D. Martin on X: US golf courses use 531 billion gallons of water per year. That’s down from 759 billion gallons per year in 2005 and is 0.5% of total annual water withdrawals in this country. And somehow, the country manages to not look like the Sahara Desert. Meanwhile, data centers – the…
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Debunking Data Center Myths
by Jeff Reynolds You’ve heard the stories. Data centers are loud, water-guzzling monsters chewing up rural landscapes. They promise jobs but deliver none. They’ll suck the grid dry, jack up everyone’s electric bill, overload the power grid, and leave abandoned warehouses when the AI bubble bursts. Opponents paint them as the latest corporate scam, with…
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Amazon Data Centers Now Use Less Water
Plus, in Virginia they spawn tax cuts for homeowners. by Hans Bader Amazon’s data centers are using water more efficiently than in the past. A company report shows that “Amazon’s data centers used just 0.12 liters of water per kilowatt-hour of compute in 2025, about one-seventh of the industry average and less than half of Amazon’s rate…
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Don’t Let Data Centers Force a Virginia Government Shutdown
by David J. Toscano [FLASH: Rumors are now circulating that House and Senate negotiators may be close to a budget deal. That is good news, but it still must pass both bodies and be signed by the governor by June 30] Want a good example of the “tail wagging the dog?” Look no further that…
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The Technological Republic and the Re-Industrialization of America
Here’s a fact: the data center buildout is going to re-industrialize America. The sooner we embrace this reality; the sooner we reap the rewards. by Shaun Kenney Data centers have arrived and it’s about time they did — and it’s your fault, too. Well, not entirely your fault — but if you’re watching Netflix and…
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Ending Data Center Exemption – Wrong Policy, Wrong Time
by Chris Saxman Wise words from former Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte” In politics, timing is everything. Timing also matters when it comes to the economy. Virginia is approaching a pivotal moment in its economic strategy—and it is happening at exactly the wrong time. As global markets reassess the value of technology companies, one thing is becoming clear: the era of easy capital is…
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Data Centers – Lucy and the Football
by Chris Saxman Virginia’s proposed move to end its data center sales and use tax (SUT) exemption eight years early is less about policy and more about predictability —and what happens as a result. Two simple analogies bring this into focus: the neighborhood Happy Hour and the timeless scene of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. Happy Hour Imagine a…
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Data Center Showdown
Tuesday, February 24 was cold and blustery at the Arlington Courthouse, where the Court of Appeals was meeting. Welcome to the front lines of the “Third Battle of Manassas,” which has been going on for 3.5 years — just a few months less than the American Civil War. What’s at stake? The future of western…
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States Confront Rising Energy Costs
Data center demands create headaches for lawmakers by David J. Toscano As Donald Trump continues his campaign against offshore wind[1] and encourages the U.S. military to buy expensive, dirty coal[2], state governments are left to manage electricity affordability, reliability, and climate goals on their own. It is a delicate balance. Consumers naturally want lower rates and reliability.…
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Data Centers Provide Property Tax Relief for Homeowners
by Hans Bader Data centers cut property taxes on homeowners, by providing lots of additional property to tax. The more property there is to tax, the less tax needs to be imposed on each property. Data centers use very few government services (unlike homeowners, who use things like schools and parks), so data centers don’t…
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The Data Centers’ “Irreparable Harm” Sham
by Mac Haddow In Prince William County, the story of the PW Digital Gateway has become a master class in legal hypocrisy. After a complete examination of the evidence, Judge Kimberly A. Irving ruled that the Board of County Supervisors’ vote approving the massive data center corridor was void ab initio because the County failed…
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The Battle Lines Are Drawn in Manassas
by Chap Petersen On Monday, April 28, my legal team filed our appeal of the Prince William County Circuit Court’s October 31, 2024 ruling, which dismissed our lawsuit against the County Board of Supervisors for approving the Digital Gateway Project, permitting 37 massive data centers in the slice of agricultural land next to the Manassas…
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Data Centers Escape Assembly Session Unscathed
By Steve Haner Despite great public angst and political theater, the data center industry has emerged from the 2025 General Assembly unscathed. Virginians will continue to compete with Internet and cloud customers from all over the country and the world for electricity, as the data centers continue to proliferate here. One bill dealing with the…