Abstract
Virginia has a decades-long history with the data center industry’s growth and development, which has been critical to the nation’s—and world’s—increasingly digital economy. The industry also has brought extraordinary benefits to state and local economies, including hundreds of billions of dollars in capital investments and tax revenues as well as tens of thousands of jobs. Yet this historic success, according to many, comes at a high cost to local communities. Data center facilities can be imposing and take up a lot of land; they require a significant amount of additional energy generation and often more transmission infrastructure; and they use tens of millions of gallons of water. Over the past two years, the General Assembly has had many data center industry growth and impact-control bills come before it. The issues are complex, and how they are considered and acted on may affect, in varying ways, this important industry, the economy, local governments, and everyday Virginians. This article looks at the data center industry’s historic origins in Virginia, how it has developed over the decades, and the related economic, infrastructure, and community and resource-impact issues facing the General Assembly now and in the years ahead.
Recommended Citation
L. Preston Bryant Jr.,
The General Assembly's Consideration of the Data Center Industry's Growth in Virginia,
28
Rich. Pub. Int. L. Rev.
45
(2024).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/pilr/vol28/iss2/2