Coalition to Protect Prince William County – Questions Relating to Data Centers
For Virginia Congressional 7th and 10th District Candidates
Answers provided by:
MIKE CLANCY
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR VIRGINIA’S 10TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
JUNE 3, 2024
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1. Right now, data centers alone account for 20% of the electricity provided statewide by
Dominion Energy, and over 50% of the electricity provided by NOVEC service territory. Those
percentages are growing. Do you think this is sustainable? What is your position on the growth
of Data Centers in northern Virginia over the past decade? (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: There has been explosive, essentially unchecked data center growth and the
related energy consumption is not sustainable. The sheer number and scale of Virginia data
center proposals and the accumulation of so many data centers in such a relatively small area
have led to a severely constrained electric grid. Data Center growth and the associated energy
consumption are issues that must be addressed.
2. The Coalition to Save Prince William County is currently participating in a lawsuit to block the
Digital Gateway, which would site 23 million square feet of Data Centers within a half-mile of
Manassas National Battlefield Park. Will you support Federal legislation to prohibit Data
Centers within close proximity of national parks and historic sites? (Please provide response
here)
ANSWER: Yes, absolutely, as your Congressman, I will support legislation to prohibit data
centers within close proximity of national parks and historic sites.
3. The growth of Data Centers requires the use of additional power plants, mainly coal-fired and
gas-fired, to provide sufficient “baseload” power, thereby nullifying the purpose of the Virginia
Clean Economy Act passed in 2020. Will you support Federal legislation to limit Data Centers by
requiring that they only use renewable sources and comply with the federal governments
energy star program ENERGY STAR NextGen Certification for Commercial Buildings | ENERGY
STAR? (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: The ENERGY STAR NextGen program is a certification recognition program that will
require increases in efficiency and renewable energy capacity, as well as a transition from
fossil fuels to clean electricity by 2050 for commercial buildings — which should include Data
Centers — to qualify for the certification. Achieving this goal, will require energy innovation
including, for example, the development of long-duration energy storage solutions that
combine supercapacitors, solid-state hydrogen storage, and energy management systems to
deliver scalable, efficient, and integrated microgrid capabilities; and research into the viability
of SMR and microreactors.
4. Given the explosive load demand from Data Centers that is triggering transmission lines which
cross not only county boundaries but also state lines, is it appropriate that the Federal
government usurp State authority by designating power corridors under the jurisdiction of
NIETC? (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: Federal designation of energy transmission corridors is problematic and not
appropriate to accommodate the private business interests investing in data centers. In
Congress, I will fight to protect VA10 citizen interests and restrict federal intervention. For
example, in Virginia, the proposed NIETC mid-Atlantic corridor would, depending on the final
route, cut across public and private lands in Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Prince
William, and Warren counties; and pass through many cultural, historical, and recreational
resources. This proliferation of federal-mandated massive transmission lines to accommodate
random data center construction is not appropriate.
5. Public utilities have a cost sharing structure that spreads investments for new transmission and
generation across all rate payers. Given that the Data Center industry is the trigger for a
significant portion of the new transmission and generation infrastructure, in what ways do you
support a more appropriate cost shift to the data center industry? (Please provide response
here)
ANSWER: There needs to be a comprehensive analysis of the cost structure and the burden
levied on rate payers versus the costs borne by data center owners for new transmission and
generation infrastructure to support data centers. Data Centers, for example, AWS data
centers, earn billions of dollars through contracts with commercial customers and government
agencies. Accordingly, there should be a more appropriate cost shift to the data center
industry.
6. As a federal official, in order to understand the cumulative impacts of the data center industry
demand on power, water, and agricultural land, will you support a comprehensive report on the
impacts to those critical resources? (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: Yes, as the Congressman for VA10, I will support a comprehensive review of and
report on the impacts of data centers on power, water, and agricultural land.
7. Please share your understanding of the impacts of data center development on both ground and
surface water resources. How would you address Data Centers’ impervious surfaces impacts
and water consumption to protect access to clean water? (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: Data Centers use massive amounts of water. Water is essential in data center
cooling systems to control the heat produced by these massive facilities, ensuring their
internal servers run uninterrupted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Data centers primarily get
their water from municipal or regional water utility companies. To address the issues cited
above, data centers should be mandated to implement strategies that reduce water
consumption and protect the watershed. Some approaches include: Data Centers recycling
water to the maximum practicable; using purified wastewater instead of potable water; use of
stormwater retention ponds at data centers, which collect rainwater, and the rainwater is
then treated and repurposed for various non-potable functions within the facility, including
cooling systems; the use of cooling technologies that reduce the consumption of water, like,
for example, evaporative cooling and free-air cooling technology; and requiring data centers
to replenish water in the watersheds impacted by their operations.
8. Provide any additional information that outlines steps you have taken to protect citizens against
data center proliferation. (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: It is important as your Congressman for VA10 to collaborate and partner with local
political leaders and the community to address these issues. To that end, I have had meetings
with political leaders like Supervisor Bob Weir and many discussions with citizens involved
with the Coalition to Protect PWC and residents of VA10 on data center proliferation and the
associated issues. I am prepared and will be focused on Day 1 in Congress to engage on these
issues and to fight to protect the best interests of the citizens of VA10.
9. Will you use your position as a member of Congress to speak to the issue of data center proliferation? (Please provide response here)
ANSWER: Yes. This is a critical issue for the community.