Building Community Power for Data Center Reform
Nature Forward has created a course that highlights the major impacts of data center development and how you can advocate for more responsible and sustainable data center development in your community.
These virtual sessions are led by researchers, scientists, and advocates – all leaders in the movement for more sustainable data center development.
If you missed the opportunity to enroll when these classes were first offered in 2025, you can still access the recorded sessions as part of a self-guided course for a fee.
See session descriptions below and enroll by clicking the button.
In addition, our data center webinars are available for free on YouTube: Conservation Cafe – YouTube
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Data centers depend on large amounts of energy to operate. In Virginia alone, Dominion Energy estimated that its contracts for energy to support data center development grew from 25GW to 60GW in less than 1 year.
Ann Bennett of VA Sierra Club describes data centers’ energy needs, the increased grid infrastructure needed to support those needs, and the impacts on ratepayers. She also recommends policies to move toward clean energy.
From water to forests to public transit, data centers impact our land in many different ways.
Kyle Hart, Mid-Atlantic Senior Program Manager for the National Park Conservation Association, explains the effects data centers have on water, agriculture, and land.
Data centers impact our watersheds through consumption and discharge. Dr. Alimatou Seck has researched how much water our rivers can lose from data center development.
You’ll learn about current water consumption in the Potomac River, what type of data center cooling systems consume less water, and what steps could be implemented to protect our watersheds.
Data centers can have significant impacts on air pollution due to their need for large diesel generators for backup power and energy demands that require fossil fuel energy. This has significant health impacts on the communities that live near data centers.
Dr. Shaolei Ren, who quantified these health impacts through his research released in 2024, will share his findings and explain how to use EPA’s COBRA tool to estimate health impacts for your community.
Regulating data center development through state policy is critical to protecting communities and measuring the cumulative impacts of data centers.
Hear from state delegates in VA and MD about the political atmosphere for data center regulation, what state regulations are needed to protect their constituents, and what potential regulation could make progress in their upcoming general assemblies.
Data centers have huge local impacts that can be mitigated by local land use regulations.
You’ll learn from community advocates from VA and MD about what local tools they use to influence better data center development in their respective communities.
Collective action is a must to accomplish better and more sustainable data center development.
Learn how to build a coalition in your community to protect people and land from unchecked data center development.
Lydia Lawrence, Nature Forward’s Conservation Director, and Julie Bolthouse, Piedmont Environmental Council’s Land Use Director, will share the lessons they’ve learned in building coalition around this issue. You’ll get practical tools and ideas for building people power for sustainable data center development.