Virginia Governor Empowers Local Communities in Data Center Development

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has issued Executive Order 22, aimed at giving local communities more control over data center development in the state. The order prohibits executive branch officials from signing non-disclosure agreements for data center projects, requiring expedited noise regulations and a review of backup-generation operations used by data centers. Additionally, the order establishes an AI task force to evaluate how the state government can address risks to Virginians related to data centers. This move comes as Virginia is already home to the data center capital of the world. The order seeks to balance the state's data center industry with community concerns, allowing local communities to have a larger say in data center development and slowing down approvals.