DATA CENTER RESOURCES
This page includes news and credible research on data centers, and highlights ways that you can join Nature Forward’s campaigns to make data center development in the DMV more sustainable and more reflective of community input.
Watch our Conservation Café presentations on Data Centers
Data Centers and local National Parks:
Do They Compute?
Presenter:
Kyle Hart
Mid-Atlantic Program Manager
National Parks Conservation Association
Data Centers:
How AI Is Keeping Us from
Our Climate Goals!
Presenter:
Ann Bennett
Land Use Chair
Virginia Sierra Club
Read our Nature Forward Conservation Blogs
- Speak up for a stronger Data Center Zoning Ordinance
(Updated Aug 5, 2024) - Virginia’s General Assembly: some wins and a long road
(May 23, 2024) - 2024 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
(Feb 1, 2024) - What are the big issues in Virginia in 2024? Think data
(Jan 6, 2024)
- Take Action On Prince George’s Data Center BIll
(Updated Nov 19, 2024) - Data Center Frontiers Summit Recap
(Oct 24, 2024) - 2024 Maryland General Assembly comes to a close
(Apr 11, 2024) - Data Centers in Maryland
(March 26, 2024)
Data Centers in the News
Dark Clouds: The Risks of Unchecked Data Centers
– Nature Forward Quarterly (Fall 2024)
Virginia News
- Energy demand will outstrip supply in Virginia as data centers proliferate
– Cardinal News (Apr 11, 2025) - County supervisors approve larger data centers off Wellington Road in Manassas
– Prince Williams Times (Apr 3, 2025) - By-Right Data Centers Eliminated in Loudoun, Existing Applications Grandfathered
– Loudoun Now (Mar 19, 2025) - Virginia’s data center expansion impacted by changing local attitudes, taxes
– WVTF FM (Mar 11, 2025)
Maryland News
- Developer seeks court order to access land along the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project’s route
– WYPR-88.1FM (Apr 15, 2025) - Lawmakers fear AI data centers will drive up residents’ power bills
– Maryland Matters (Apr 15, 2025) - Frederick County in uproar as council debates tighter rules for future data centers
– WBFF FOX 45 (Mar 25, 2025) - Virginia data centers are running out of power. Maryland Farms lie in the way
– Christian Science Monitor (Mar 20, 2025)
More Information and Resources
Quick Summaries
Infographic:
Top 50 Data Center Markets by Power Consumption (Jan. 2024)
8-minute video:
The Hidden Costs of the Cloud
Piedmont Environmental Council provides a quick overview of data center development in Northern Virginia.
Virginia Map of
Data Centers
A crowd-sourced map that provides a snapshot of the current and future data center footprint in Virginia.
Sierra Club Virginia’s Press Kit
This one-pager provides quick facts and a brief FAQ
Deeper Dives into Data and Recommendations
Sierra Club’s Position Paper
(34 pages)
“Demanding Better: How growing demand for electricity
can drive a cleaner grid”
(September 2024)
Virginia’s study of
data center issues
This report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia provides a deep dive into the issues and policy recommendations
(December 2024)
Perspectives from Elected Officials
- Ashburn (VA) Supervisor Mike Turner’s Position Paper: Data Center Capital of the World “A Strategy for a Changing Paradigm” offers Supervisor Turner’s opinions and recommendations as a decision maker in the county that leads the US in regards to data center concentrations. READ HERE
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