Virginia is the data center capital of the world. As AI and cloud computing explode, these massive warehouses of humming computers bring jobs and investment to the state. But there’s a catch that most Virginians don’t see until they open their electric bills.

These facilities are energy-hungry on a scale never seen before. And the electric grid is already struggling to keep up. This raises a simple, urgent question: Who should pay for the massive upgrades needed to power these data centers?

So far, the answer is Virginians.

The problem

Utilities are using the “data center boom” as an excuse to build expensive, polluting new gas plants. They are spending Virginians’ money now to build infrastructure that mainly benefits a few tech companies. Meanwhile, Virginia households — regular working families already struggling with rising costs — get stuck picking up the tab.

The solution

Fortunately, there is a common-sense step forward on the table as lawmakers debate the budget: incentivizing data centers to foot the bill for their energy needs, and holding them to a standard that doesn’t burden communities with more air pollution. If data centers want to keep receiving state tax breaks worth over $1 billion a year, they should drive innovation and bring clean energy resources to the grid.

Renewables vs. gas

Renewables, like solar, wind and battery storage are a bargain, offering both affordable and rapidly deployable solutions without the costs of increased pollution, making them an ideal choice to address both the growing affordability crisis and the surge in demand for electricity.

By contrast, new gas power plant construction takes years to complete and results in much higher bills for customers who are required to pay the skyrocketing costs of new gas plant construction and the rising cost of the fuel they must have to operate.

When utilities overbuild new fossil fuel power plants and infrastructure to satisfy data center demand, they are wasting customers’ money and locking in Virginians’ reliance on new sources of health-harming pollution for decades.

The state can make a change

Virginia can ensure that Big Tech’s growth stays aligned with the state’s path to a clean and affordable energy future. The General Assembly and Governor Spanberger have the opportunity to protect Virginians from ballooning energy costs, prevent billions in wasted utility spending and cement the Commonwealth as a leader in smart, sustainable economic growth. 

The state must get this budget language across the finish line, and ensure that the companies driving Virginia’s energy demand crisis help solve the problem without worsening the affordability and climate crisis Virginia households are already confronting.