On October 23, 2023, The Piedmont Environmental Council hosted a community meeting in Upperville, VA on data centers and associated energy infrastructure. The presentation, given by The Piedmont Environmental Council President Chris Miller, is available to view and download. The presentation focused on transmission line proposals released by PJM Interconnection on September 5, 2023 and the underlying cause: data center demand growth in Virginia. The presentation was followed by a Q&A with PEC staff, along with leaders from Citizens for Fauquier County, Protect Fauquier and The Coalition to Protect Prince William County. Sources of information in presentation: PEC’s Interactive Transmission Line Map: https://www.pecva.org/transmissionmap PJM: https://www.pjm.com/ Slide 20: https://www.vedp.org/industry/data-centers Slide 29: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/hidden-costs-ai-impending-energy-and-resource-strain Slide 30: https://rga.lis.virginia.gov/Published/2021/SD17 Slide 37: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/05/03/dominion-projects-new-gas-plants-advanced-nuclear-will-be-needed-to-meet-soaring-demand/ Slide 38: ​​https://cdn-dominionenergy-prd-001.azureedge.net/-/media/pdfs/global/company/2023-va-integrated-resource-plan.pdf Slide 41: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/02/02/are-virginia-ratepayers-and-residents-subsidizing-the-data-center-industry/

1. Energy Infrastructure
and Data Centers
Community Meeting at Buchanan Hall - October 23, 2023

2. Protect and restore the
lands and waters of
the Virginia Piedmont,
while building
stronger, more
sustainable
communities.
Our Mission
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

3. Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

4. We’re part of a growing coalition… Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

5. Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

6. You can view this map and zoom in/out at:
pecva.org/transmissionmap
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

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12. Regional Transmission Operator - PJM
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

13. Dominion Energy
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

14. PJM’s rationale:
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

16. There’s something big going on.
We don’t have all the answers, but we know
what’s happening is important and we know it
matters immensely to the future of Virginia.
We need to be creative and work together.
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

17. Today’s Discussion
● Explosive growth of the
data center industry
● Trends and projections
● Who is making the
decisions
● What can we individually
and collectively do
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

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19. The digital age relies on data centers
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

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21. The digital age relies on a reliable power grid
*1000 MW = 1 gigawatt
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

22. Data centers consume a huge amount of electricity
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

23. They rely on diesel generators for backup power
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

24. They use a lot of water
Photo Credit: Hugh Kenny, PEC
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

25. They create a host of community-level impacts
Noise Water Air Quality
Wildlife Habitat Design Transmission
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

26. And the proposals are
getting much bigger
● Older data centers used 10-15
MW per building, and
multi-building campuses were
rare.
● Now we are seeing 30-90 MW
data centers with multi building
campuses.
● A large campus could use
600-1000 MW or more.
Fuel Storage
Diesel Generators
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

27. Approved But Unbuilt + Applications Filed
County Status Development square feet Estimated Power Range
Loudoun Approved 12,286,529 1,843MW – 5,529MW
Applications 10,938,449 1,641MW – 4,922MW
Prince William Approved 10,719,984 1,608MW – 4,824MW
Applications 42,510,328 6,377MW – 19,130MW
Fauquier Approved 2,901,000 435MW – 1,305MW
Culpeper Approved 4,630,000 695MW – 2,083MW
Applications 1,990,000 299MW - 896MW
Stafford Applications 6,010,000 902MW – 2,705MW
Spotsylvania/Caroline Applications 6,600,000 990MW – 2,970MW
King George Applications 7,500,000 1,125MW – 3,375MW
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

28. Approved But Unbuilt + Applications Filed
Data Centers:
Total Approved But Unbuilt
● 30+ million sq ft
● 4,000 MW – 14,000 MW
Data Centers:
Total Including Applications
● 106+ million sq ft
● 16,000 MW – 48,000 MW
These are HUGE numbers.
If 1 MW can power 250 homes…
48,000 MW would power
12 million homes!
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

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32. What’s happening in Virginia
is unprecedented.
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

33. PJM Mid Atlantic Territory
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

34. PJM Western Territory
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

35. Dominion Territory Explosive Growth Trends
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

36. That’s a doubling of peak load
within 14 years!
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

37. What’s Dominion’s Plan?
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

38. Dominion’s plans rely on…
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

39. Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

40. This cost will be passed on to ratepayers
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

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42. Continuing down this path will make it
very difficult to achieve Virginia’s
clean energy goals.
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

43. Who is in charge?
Local governments? Investors in data
center industry?
Virginia State
Corporation Commission?
General Assembly?
Dominion?
Governor?
PJM?
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

44. What can we do
about it?
● Push for better land use planning
for data centers
● Demand better oversight at the
local, state and federal level of
electricity planning
● Promote more distributed,
sustainable ways to produce power
● Come up with a mitigation plan for
communities and conservation
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

45. What can you do
about it?
● Stay informed. Visit:
pecva.org/datacenters
● Reach out to elected officials
(local, state, federal)
● Share information with friends,
family, contacts and neighbors
● Financially support the local
efforts and the broader
campaign that is needed
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023

46. Q/A and Panel Discussion
Presentation by The Piedmont Environmental Council - October 23, 2023