Pause data centers. Enough is Enough!!

Dear Virginia Legislators, A moratorium on on any final approvals of applications for rezoning, special exception or special use permits, site plans or development of the siting of new data centers by a locality until the pending requests for electric connections for data centers already approved until July 1, 2028 is an excellent idea! Prince Williams and Loudoun are over-inundated already with data centers...and approved ones that have no access to power for many years. Let's let what is already approved play out. We have no idea right now how this is all going to turn out. We need to be thoughtful about over-committing our state. Deborah Skahill Warrenton, Virginia Protect Remington.org

I live in Botetourt County n I am completely against a data center coming into our county. Prayers for all working against data centers.

Pause data center construction. Goochland County wants to have data centers. They do not fit with the rural setting of the county. The proposed location will affect home values, many of which are occupied by senior citizens. They produce noise pollution. They consume too much power and use too much water.

PLEASE. No Data Centers in Goochland County West Creek TOD We were so excited to move to Goochland 5 years ago. Now it seems Goochland is just interested in additional tax dollars and not about their residents. I really pray the data center proposals do not go thru Thanks Rob

Dear Delegates, Please vote for HB1515 and put a moratorium on data centers in Virginia! We are all aware of the overgrowth of data centers in Northern Virginia, now of which are moving south along I-95 and I-64, like a cancer. As citizens in Goochland County, we have been fighting against the County Board of Supervisors for the past 7 months, in an effort to prevent placement of data centers directly behind our homes. Our emails, phone calls and hundreds of presentations at public hearings have been ignored by the 5 members of the Goochland County Board of Supervisors, who ultimately voted in November 2025 to impose a “Technology Overlay District” on the properties behind us, which would allow the county to incentivize sale of the properties to companies who want to build data centers in Goochland. The impact on the environment, quality of life and health, residential electrical costs and property values to the thousands of residents who live next to these identified sites will be devastating. Please vote for HB1515 and put a moratorium on data centers in Virginia. Sincerely, Kathleen and John Beyrau Goochland County, Virginia

Please support a bill that places a stay on Data Center zoning and siting until the PJM infrastructure is in place to support. Instead just Build the DC along the interstates next to power lines where possible. We need to stop this random land use failure of wise land planned land use where the DC are zoned next to residential communities.

Local approval of data centers: temporary moratorium is an important first step. Thank you for addressing the critical need to develop state-wide energy regulations regarding data centers before their further heavy encroachment in VA. The fast-growing and free-wheeling nature of this industry has already resulted in untold health, environmental, and other concerns in communities around the state — and energy shortages and the attendant costs will quickly become critical. I applaud the Assembly’s first step and am strongly in favor of state-wide regulations to protect the energy grid.

As a concerned citizen in Botetourt County I ask that you pass Bill HB 1515 as it is written. A two year study is too long as the state is being bombarded daily by companies such as Google to put a data center in darn near every town, county. Please stop the destruction of our beautiful rural areas before it is too late!!! We need the moratorium now!!!

Representing the Prince William Conservation Alliance and our members in the prince william county, we support this bill.

We do not need/want more data centers. They MUST be heavily regulated and not permitted to ruin historical land.

I write in strong support of HB 1515 and urge its passage quickly. This bill takes a responsible step by calling for a pause on new data center development until Virginia’s electric grid can reliably support what has been approved. This is not opposition to technology or economic growth. It is an acknowledgment that infrastructure must come before expansion, not after. Virginia residents are feeling the strain. Electricity costs continue to rise, and families are absorbing those increases monthly. During recent cold temp warnings, utilities asked residents to conserve power to prevent stress on the grid. These were not theoretical concerns. They were real-time signals that our system is operating near its limits. That leads to an unavoidable question: If extreme cold can strain the grid, what will happen during an exceptionally hot summer? High temps drive sustained air-conditioning demand across homes, schools, hospitals, and small businesses. Data centers operate continuously and at enormous scale, add a constant load that doesn't ease during peak events. Without adequate planning, this combination risks grid instability, higher costs, and reduced reliability for the people. When the grid is stressed or fails, data centers rely on diesel backup generators. During emergency events, these generators can run for extended periods, producing significant air and noise pollution. Communities near these facilities bear the consequences of degraded air quality, increased particulate matter, and round the clock noise that affects sleep, health, and quality of life. These impacts aren't evenly distributed. They fall on neighborhoods, schools, and rural communities that were never planned to host industrial scale energy systems. During emergencies, residents are already coping with extreme weather. Generator pollution compounds those stresses at exactly the worst possible moment. HB 1515 recognizes that relying on emergency generation as a routine backstop is not a sustainable plan. There is also a longer-term economic concern. The technology sector is known for cycles of rapid expansion followed by contraction. If Virginia builds massive electrical generation and transmission infrastructure to support today’s data center demand, what happens if that demand declines? We risk creating fields of empty buildings supported by permanent infrastructure costs that don't disappear when the market shifts. Those costs will be borne by ratepayers and taxpayers long after the boom has passed. For smaller counties, these risks are magnified. We do not have unlimited land, unlimited water, or unlimited public safety capacity. While HB 1515 focuses on electric reliability, electricity is only one part of the picture. Large-scale data center development also affects water basin management, land preservation, loss of rural character, fire and emergency services required to protect massive facilities When development moves faster than planning, communities are left managing the consequences. HB 1515 provides a prudent pause. Ensure the grid is reliable, costs are controlled, and communities are protected before additional approvals are granted. It allows Virginia to grow thoughtfully, rather than reacting to preventable crises after the fact. For these reasons, I urge you to pass HB 1515 without delay. Acting now is the most responsible path forward for residents, local governments, and the Commonwealth as a whole.

Please pause data center builds, so regulations can be made. For example: not building adjacent to residential developments we all know the detrimental effects to the residents Health, quality of life and property values.

Please pause data center builds, and institute regulations than keep the data centers from being built adjacent to residential properties. I think we all know the detrimental effects on quality of life, health and property values Thanks

Protect Virginians. Vote Yes on 1515! Virginia’s electricity grid is on a collision course with the math and physics of a power demand that is risking the reliability and affordability for everyday ratepayers. Listen to the words of our own retired SCC Judge and previous Director of FERC. “The risk of black outs were once on the horizon, they are across the street” He has been warning us for months the risk is on our doorstep. Please pause anymore data center approvals until we can “reasonably “ manage the 47 gigawatts already promised by Dominion Energy!

In March 2025 my wife and I bought a new home in the Mosaic subdivision in eastern Goochland County. In July 2025 the county announced plans for a Technology Overlay District (TOD) to welcome data centers to the property surrounding our neighborhood and others residential developments ignoring the unanimous voice of their constituents against the TOD. A developer now wants to add 900 acres to the TOD for an 8 building data center campus literally next door to our neighborhood. This parcel is not served by existing power lines so it is exactly what HB1515 seeks to address. Please vote to approve HB1515 to stop the unfettered development of data centers in Virginia. We need a thoughtful examination of data centers to preserve our quality of life, to keep our cost of living in line, and to manage new growth that prioritizes the lives of all Virginians over the profits of data center developers. Thank you, Nick Klym

Pause data centers until resources (energy and water) are assessed to minimally impact adjacent neighborhoods. Citizens should not bear the financial burden of major companies like Google and Amazon

While I understand the need for Data Centers, I feel that the State is grabbing the money without long term planning necessary to support these monstrosities. Predictive models need to be used to understand the impact of water usage over 10+ years. What happens to these DC when technology evolves, which it will, and these data centers become obsolete? Why can we not dual purpose solar farms and DC? What benefits are the citizens of these communities getting besides a possible park or improved emergency services? Those do not out weigh the reduction in our home values. While Data Centers appear attractive from a short term cash influx, it will deter future growth of the localities where these are built from a residential aspect

Requesting support on HB 1515 as the Botetourt County Board approved a data center with zero transparency and zero public input. We need the moratorium to be able to access the impact on our community and environment. Thank you

I am asking you vote for this MORATORIUM on data centers. The UN recently stated we are in a water crisis. We need to consider our children and their children’s futures. Will they have drinking water? Not at the rate we are going. This bill will allow our state to do the research and make the bills and laws needed to protect our commonwealth. Please keep Virginias safe. Data centers are a current unregulated infrastructure profiting and relies on our natural and man made resources. They currently get tax breaks and have no standards of operation. Let us lead in technology that is sustainable for all. My daughter recently spoke against the Google data center in the process of being put in Bortetourt using Carvins Cove drinking water. She deserves clean safe and sustainable drinking water. Thank you Delegate Shin for introducing this bill, and thank you all for your vote yes to the Moratorium for data centers in VA.

Respectfully, I encourage you to support this bill. AI data centers are invasive industrial entities that are encroaching on residential communities and schools. They pose a significant risk to citizens who are already suffering the effects of brown outs. Given the severe winter, imagine if citizens experienced brown outs because of the energy these data centers require. Thank you for your consideration. ~ Margaret K. Levet

"Move fast and break things" may only officially be Facebook's philosophy, but it is the modus operandi for the tech industry as a whole. "Disruption" has been their mantra for over a decade, and there is no clearer example of it than the current gold rush for data center construction, moving into localities as quickly and quietly as possible in order to establish a foothold, regardless of the long-term consequences for the communities. This is what has happened in the Roanoke Valley area, with the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors spending a year and a half on a deal with Google without public input, and the Western Virginia Water Authority rubber-stamping the company's water usage a few months later with little fanfare. These proposals need to be put on hold, so that communities aren't having to play catch-up as we are. Disrupt the disruptors. Pass HB1515.

As a former environmental planner for the state of Virginia, citizen, parent and grandparent I am in support of a moratorium on further development of data centers, as the current rate of developments and impacts are becoming nightmarish to dozens of communities in Virginia and the nation.. There is a need for refined planning, policies, and development standards before continuing to encroach on communities in the manner currently taking place. Va. Law protects health, safety, welfare of its citizens, especially those that are protected and unrepresented , such as elderly people living adjacent to proposed data centers. I urge you to honor your commitment to serve citizens. Please vote for tne moratorium.

Having served as a clergyperson for 34 years in the Richmond area, and having been born, raised and educated in this beautiful state, I am horrified to see the area known as Data Center Alley continue its spawl southward. My son eldest serves this nation through the State Department. He never had bronchitis until he moved to South Riding. The data centers are not only poorly sited but they belch fumes and imperil the electrical grid. Dominion Energy has overpromised power, PJM is in a precarious state, and the elected leaders of my state must get our runaway data center industry under control. A lack of regulation allows the wealthiest companies on earth to impoverish our health, scar our landscape, historic sites and residential neighborhoods, run transmission lines next to elementary schools and make citizens pay for these insults. My community in rural Goochland is too under threat of all these data center insults in our backyard. No parent would let a child plan the life, health and finances so poorly. You legislators must take the role of parent and put some boundaries on the spoilt child/industry that has known no boundaries and like a teen who drinks and drives, can and will do inordinate harm to our state and us who live here because until recently, Virginia was so well managed. We desperately need a "time out" to teach the data center industry this is not the way you behave in our home and for all the adults in the room, you legislators, to decide on some basic "house" rules. The industrial revolution saw pollution, squalor and disease. The AI revolution brings pollution, physically invasive build out, and harms to human health and the environment, not to mention a failing electrical grid. A moritorium on data centers is long overdue and an obligation this state owes its citizens. I am not against economic growth--I am against economic greed that would endanger the stability of our state. Please, please pause the approvals of any more data centers until we have some adequate regulation to guide growth an an infrastructure equiped to provide power. I miss the time when our state was associated not with data center alley but rather the blue ridge mountains. Make it that way again! Rev. Lisa Sykes Dr. Seth Sykes

I support HB1515 because it applies established planning best practices to the siting of large-scale data centers, while protecting communities and critical infrastructure. The pace of data center development has exceeded the capacity of existing electric distribution systems and outstripped the availability of completed interconnection, load forecasting, and cumulative impact studies. Consistent with best practices in comprehensive planning and infrastructure concurrency, this bill appropriately sequences land-use approvals with verified utility capacity by temporarily prohibiting final approvals until existing interconnection requests are fulfilled or until July 1, 2028. This defined planning window allows utilities and local governments to conduct necessary technical studies, evaluate cumulative community impacts such as noise, water use, and land-use compatibility, and update zoning and comprehensive plans based on documented system constraints. The temporary moratorium promotes orderly growth, safeguards grid reliability, and ensures that host communities are not subjected to the unintended consequences of premature approvals.

I’m in favor of supporting HB1515 and believe that it is necessary due to the currently known list of inter connections by Dominion and AEP. I don’t believe that two years is sufficient to catch up on the backlog, it is a start.

We have witnessed first hand local government breaking Virginia law to quickly change land use rules in the data center bonanza. When the utilities are not even available, we are giving false hopes to land owners that might find another use or development type and upsetting the residents surrounding their land. A pause in the processes would allow all parties some room to better consider the rules that will govern these developments as well as providing ample local input. After all the electricity is not readily available and should be provided to those localities and developers that are in queue and have followed the law. Please approve this pause.

I support HB 1515. I witnessed how the voices and recommendations of constituents and the Planning Commission were silenced, and the Board of Supervisors have shown to residents that the data center industry is leading the county’s land use policy. The Board of Supervisors threw away balanced residential safeguards and data center industry flexibility, reduced the set back to 100 ft. and rejecting the public hearing. Adding insult to injury the Board gave special treatment to pending public utility applications, ensuring they will not have to follow even the new weak standards. I demand our state legislators to vote yes for HB 1515 to put the safeguard We The People need.

Please vote to delay any construction of data centers until at least 2028 so that more studies and analysis can be done to determine the full effects on the population the environment and the cost to consumers thank you

I am in Support of a Moratorium. PLEASE CONSIDER ELIMINATING ALL ILLEGAL DATA AS PER THE TAKE IT DOWN ACT You will free a very large amount of Data Space and VIRGINIA will lead the way to a brighter tomorrow

I am a retired biologist. I strongly support HB 1515. Virginia is in a severe drought. We need to pause approval of new data centers until interconnection of previously approved data centers is completed. We need the pause to see how many data centers Virginia can sustainably accommodate regarding available power generation, transmission infrastructure and water supply.

I strongly support this bill because there is a disconnect between local approvals and energy availability, and this bill seeks to address that problem.

Please continue to support HR1515 and place a moratorium on new data centers. Virginians are experiencing incredible and unaffordable increases in electric bills to subsidize the onslaught of new data centers.

Please stop the data centers - our electricity bills are killing us - do you seriously not care about your constituents?

Dear Delegate Shin, Thus far, Virginia's Legislature has been unable to slow the surge in new data centers. Our grid is now failing, and residential customers are being charged for the bill. Localities cannot slow the onslaught on their own. A Temporary Moratorium on Local Approvals of Data Centers makes good sense. HB 1515 would prohibit final approval of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a new data center by a locality until the earlier of (i) the fulfillment of all pending requests for interconnection to distribution service by an electric utility customer that is a data center or (ii) July 1, 2028.” This is a smart bill and deserves your support. Vote "yes" on HB1515 David Gibson Warrenton VA

I am strongly in support of this bill as DCs are growing too fast near residential neighborhoods. The full impact on neighborhoods is not known and we need to protect citizens. It would help put a stop on aggressive land speculations and income speculations of counties which are not willing to listen to their citizens . Thank you Dr. Buettner 7022 Bisque Terrace Richmond, VA 23238

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! To many in this area its a big country send some Data Center to other countries and states -- I support HB 1515 - VOTE YES!!!!

Hello. My name is Natalie Pien, a 40+ year resident of Loudoun County writing to ask your support for HB 1515. I am a retired public-school teacher and a former environmentalist in the public sector. I am a grandmother with 3 very young granddaughters. They, and all life, deserve a livable future. HB1515 pauses local land use approvals of new data centers until existing interconnection requests for electricity have been fulfilled, or until July 2028, whichever comes first. There are numerous data centers already built in Northern Virginia that are waiting for power, and many other facilities under construction. This bill offers a practical and reasonable approach that will help to reduce speculative and sprawling data center development in the Virginia real estate market.

As a resident already experiencing rising utility costs, I write, briefly, in support of this good sense legislation which will help control costs created by DATA CENTERS for all individual Virginians. Here at last is a bill that can direct the costs of future technology back to those who will profit from that technology. Please support this legislation for the good of all residents who have no control over these developments.

This is a necessary bill to allow our electrical grid a water resources to catch up to existing and already approved data centers.

United Cherokee Indian deserve recognition stop playing with us .. our history speaks stop playing with us again you steady playing with us in our faces oblivious you folks need to step down from your position due to your actions ain’t working

I write in support of HB 1515. The proliferation of data centers and pressure on our electric grid (and bills) must be checked until the impact can be assessed. Please pass this bill.

I am a resident of Goochland and I am very concerned about the environmental impact of data centers. I think we are moving far too quickly without adequate consideration of the impact on residents. We must impose a moratorium on any further approvals until we have given adequate thought to how to prevent residents from the impacts of noise, air pollution, water shortages, and the inevitable increase in electricity costs. Our representatives must not allow the seduction of possible tax revenues over the protection of its citizens. Our Goochland District Supervisors are not listening to us, their constituents, I am hoping to have a voice. Thank you for submitting this bill. Please support HB1515.

I am very concerned about the environmental impact of data centers. I think we are moving far too quickly without adequate consideration of the impact on residents. We must impose a moratorium on any further approvals until we have given adequate thought to how to prevent densely populated areas from the impacts of noise, air pollution, water shortages, and the inevitable increase in electricity costs. We must not allow the seduction of possible tax revenues to impact our common sense about the protection of our commonwealth's citizens.

I am writing in favor of HB1515. I am a resident of Chesterfield County, the site of the first of eight or more new methane gas power plants that Dominion Energy proposes to build to meet unrestrained data center development. That data center development is straining our electricity grid and raising our electric bills to cover the cost of the new electricity infrastructure. These new gas plants built by utilities along with the diesel backup generators used by the data centers are degrading our air quality that Virginians have fought so long and hard to improve. The pause in new data center development under HB1515 would give the General Assembly and the new Spanberger Administration a couple years to sort out the mess we currently find ourselves in. Please support HB1515. Thank you. Glen Besa

I am Carol Isvak, a new resident of Virginia (November 2024) and Mosaic (April 2025), an over 55 community in Goochland County and stand in favor of HR 1515. After thorough research of these type communities across the US and after revisiting Mosaic many times over several years, I found no other place as charming with all the amenities I wanted. However, no one informed me of the possible data center buildout during this timeframe, so I was surprised at all the sudden community activity and residential concern about new access roads, traffic flow, emissions, potential higher electric rates, impact on emergency services, and acoustic noise. All these activities would have definitely influenced my decision to buy a home in this area/county! More time to assess the impact (costs and health concerns) of these projects will be extremely beneficial not only to the residents of Mosaic, but also to nearby property owners of the proposed utility and data center construction. Thank you.

Please support this bill to balance the importance of residents and the industry. This is essential for the future of our state and generations to come as the current pace is unsustainable and with unrealistic electric grid demands. Thank you for your consideration for quality of life of all Virginians.

As a citizen residing in Goochland County, and learning about data centers being proposed for this part of Goochland County (District 5), I strongly support a moratorium on data center development in the state. Data centers use large amounts of electricity and water, cause noise pollution and decrease homeowner property values. The electricity use causes rates to rise for all taxpayers. There should be a thoughtful and more deliberative process for siting data centers and allowing them to connect to public utilities. Thank you for supporting this bill. Sincerely, Karen M Sanders

Virginia has more data centers than there are countries in the world. We import more energy in Virginia than any other state in the nation. Our state is beautiful, but has gotten ahead of itself. Not all progress is good progress. Combining additional oversight, transparency, ratepayer protection, and sustainability and mitigation measures, Bill 1515 would bring transformational data center reform to what has become a dangerously chaotic situation. Please don't give up hope on these bills. Don't let the corruption that is vetoing these protections keep you down too. Be a louder voice for your people, starting with your vote. Be so loud, that corruption's forged dismay cannot spread any longer. You say you do this occupation because you want to make Virginia a better place? Fortunately, there is a great way to start before you now... with HB 1515. Do your duty. Remember who you serve. Your people are watching. Your children are watching.

I want to thank Delegate Shin for her commitment to ensuring that Virginians have reliable and affordable power and lend my support to her common sense approach in HB1515. Data center facilities, no matter where they are located, take a toll on all Virginians, including households and small businesses. HB1515 focuses on protecting power grid reliability and helps keep electricity bills from spiraling upward for Virginia families. Data cneters are driving a massive surge in electricity demand, overwhelming our power grid and fueling a rush to build new gas-fired power plants. The breakneck pace of data center construction— with even more in the pipeline—has outstripped utilities’ ability to deliver reliable power. HB1515 hits pause on local approvals for new data centers until existing requests to connect to the electric grid are fulfilled. By curbing speculative land grabs for sprawling data center campuses, Please support HB1515 for all Virginians,

I support HB 1515

Good morning. My name is Art Howe and I'm submitting this comment on behalf of SaveOrangeCountyVA, a grassroots organization of residents concerned about the impacts of data center development on our rural community. I urge the subcommittee to support HB1515. This bill does not stop data center development—it simply pauses new local land use approvals while Virginia addresses the unprecedented backlog in Dominion Energy's interconnection queue. Projects with approved site plans can still move forward. Currently, Dominion prioritizes power delivery based on engineering constraints, not application order. This has incentivized speculative "wildcatting"—developers proposing projects near transmission infrastructure hoping to jump the queue, regardless of actual demand. The result is land speculation that harms both communities facing development pressure and the industry itself, with some projects facing 7-year delays while others connect within months. A two-year pause would bring order to a chaotic process, allowing the approximately 10GW of projects already in final contract stages to proceed while preventing new speculation from further straining the grid and our communities. Thank you for your consideration.

I support the pause on data center development that this bill proposes. Common sense dictates that we do everything to make sure our power grid is capable of handling new data center and the pause would allow Virginian’s a chance to ensure that. Please enact this bill.

Nature Forward strongly supports HB1515. With more data centers than anywhere in the world, this bill isn’t going to stop data center development – it is continuing every day. But it would allow Virginia to catch its breath, so to speak, pause new approvals of data centers, and allow critical time for Dominion Energy to address the already massive queue it has for delivering electricity without getting even more behind. Please vote “yes” in support of HB1515.

I wholeheartedly support anything that will slow the growth, if not stop the growth, of data centers in Virginia. It is all happening TOO FAST without well devised plans or adequate forethought. Virginia already has its fair share of data centers, why ruin more of our beautiful landscape, especially here in Goochland, with more noise generating, resource hogging data centers?!?! If you look at how Goochland has approached it, their plan IS NOT fully thought out nor does it have the adequate impact studies to support them in Goochland. It was rushed, rushed, rushed for the sake of the almighty dollar and totally against what over 99% of the population supports. Please stop this before a huge mistake is made! Once the data center is built, there is no turning back. I ask you to please STOP or significantly slow the growth of more data centers in Virginia.

Data center energy demand has left us with utility companies having to import a large percentage of their power from other states and an inability to keep up with the demand. There is no long-term plan for sustainability. Not for the industry itself. Not for the utilities. Please vote YES on HB1515 which will temporarily pause data center development until pending requests for connection to the grid are fulfilled. It will allow valuable time for good decision making and development of a long-term strategy.

My comments are in support of HB 1515. A relatively short moratorium will allow time to consider appropriate controls, as well as reducing rampant land speculation for data center development. There is a deficit of power here in Virginia. There are numerous data centers already built in Northern Virginia that are waiting for power, and other facilities under construction. Allowing further development without resolution of power issues will harm our natural resources and residents. Thank you for your consideration.

Please support this to control the reckless building of data centers. I am concerned with the loss of farmland and the environmental impact on our water and the abuse of the power grid. They may become the next useless fixtures built by this greedy society on false promises of jobs and economic improvement. Denise Hargraves

I am in strong support of this bill that will pause further growth of data centers. We need a better way to manage and approve more data centers due to issues related to air and water pollution and power needs.

This bill does not stop data center development it forces organization to what has become chaos. There are 47GWs of load in the queue with Dominion Energy in Virginia, a seven year wait for some data center customers in Northern Virginia, and numerous fully constructed data centers awaiting power. There are data center developers facing 7 year waits for power while new players wildcat along proposed transmission lines and near power generation facilities. This is not an anti-data center bill, it’s a pro-orderly development bill.

My name George Craig and I live in Winchester,, VA. I am writing in favor of HB 8 and ask for your support and "yes" vote. It is important for Virginia to be prepared when there is an Article V convention called and to ensure the commissioner sent follow the limitation of their authority. Thank you.