Dear Supporters –
Data Center Legislation — Bus to Richmond Tickets, Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 5:00 AM | Eventbrite
There is still time to reserve a seat on the bus to lobby critical decision-makers in Richmond. The evidence is piling up: The data center industry is in trouble.
The industry believes they simply need better PR tactics, but that will not be enough. We see the destruction of our communities, the risks to our reliable power and our natural and cultural resources, and we know the increase in our electric bills is coming – all are on our approaching horizon.
BisNow: ‘An Expensive Lesson’: Data Center Developers Launch Efforts To Gain Support In Hostile Communities
“…Northern Virginia data center opponents protest outside of Bisnow’s DICE East event in Tysons in 2022.”
“The data center industry was caught off guard by the growing wave of opposition it faces in data center development hot spots. Proposed data center projects once flew under the radar but now routinely provoke fierce backlash and organized opposition rooted in local environmental and quality-of-life concerns.”
“Developers have struggled to navigate an increasingly hostile political landscape in key markets like Virginia, Arizona and Oregon, where data centers have become central issues in local elections and proposed projects face growing scrutiny from lawmakers and lawsuits from residents.”
“Developers have been slow to react to these shifting political winds.”
“But as local resistance jeopardizes major projects, the industry’s largest players have begun changing their approach toward the communities where they hope to build. Developers are starting to treat proposed projects like separate political campaigns, devoting personnel and financial resources to engaging local stakeholders and tailoring messaging around projects to build support and mitigate potential opposition…”
Look at the graph below. Notice that one line shooting up to the moon – longer than all others? That’s Northern Virginia! — and that line does NOT include the newly approved Digital Gateway or Devlin data center campus projects.
While the data center saturation in Northern Virginia is already taking its toll, all of Virginia is also at risk from the impacts.
Don’t miss your opportunity to tell elected representatives in Richmond — those who are tasked with protecting our quality of life, while at the same time responsible for weighing reasonable oversight on the data center industry — that we no longer have the luxury of waiting for accountability.
Data Center Legislation — Bus to Richmond Tickets, Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 5:00 AM | Eventbrite