Virginia data center and energy laws

What it would do: Creates the Distributed Energy Resources Task Force as an advisory commission with 25-35 members to develop strategies for distributed energy resource markets and FERC Order No. 2222 compliance, requiring reports by November 1, 2026, and expiring July 1, 2027.

What it would do: Directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to amend regulations on data center emergency generators to limit Tier 2 generators to sudden outages only, require existing permitted data centers to retrofit 20 percent annually to Tier 4 equivalent or better over five years, and require new data centers to use only Tier 4 equivalent or better generators.

What it would do: Directs the State Corporation Commission to conduct proceedings by January 1, 2027 and 2028 to review whether Phase I and Phase II electric utilities' cost allocations for transmission, generation, and distribution unreasonably require non-high-load customers to subsidize high-load customers' costs.

What it would do: Amends the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund statute to define reclaimed water and water-dependent cooling, and requires qualified companies operating facilities with water-dependent cooling to use reclaimed water for increasing percentages of cooling processes, reaching 100 percent by July 1, 2031.

What it would do: Requires any person operating a high-load facility with electricity demand exceeding 90 megawatts and not in operation before January 1, 2027 to obtain a certificate of operation from the State Corporation Commission, which must find no material adverse effects on utility rates, reliability, environmental compliance, and public interest.

What it would do: Amends Virginia's retail sales and use tax exemption for data centers to require operators to use clean energy resources, non-carbon dioxide-emitting backup power, and implement environmental management systems beginning July 1, 2027, with compliance deadlines extending through 2035.

What it would do: Requires localities to mandate site assessments examining sound profiles near residential units and schools within 500 feet of new data centers requiring 100 megawatts or more of electrical power, and requires electric utilities to submit information about substations and transmission voltage needed to serve such facilities.

What it would do: Directs the State Corporation Commission to determine in at least one biennial review proceeding filed between January 1, 2025 and July 1, 2027 whether Phase I and Phase II utilities are using reasonable customer classifications in their rates, tolls, charges, or schedules.

What it would do: Requires owners or operators of high-energy facilities over 30 megawatts to submit quarterly reports on energy and water usage to the Department of Environmental Quality starting May 1, 2026, and establishes a publicly accessible statewide clearinghouse for this information by July 1, 2026.

What it would do: Prohibits localities from approving rezoning, special exceptions, permits, or site plans for data centers on or after July 1, 2027, and prohibits state agencies from approving permits or authorizations for data center development or related electric infrastructure on or after that date. The provisions expire July 1, 2030.

What it would do: Adds enhanced public notice and hearing requirements for data center zoning changes, requiring advertisements to include applicant name, anticipated owner/end user, utility infrastructure details, and mandating at least two public hearings for data center rezoning or zoning text amendments.

What it would do: Requires the Commission to establish interconnection service standards for electric utilities serving high-demand customers with peak demand of 60 megawatts or greater, including requirements for on-site backup zero-carbon generation facilities serving at least 50 percent of new customers' peak demand and 20 percent for existing customers by January 1, 2032.

What it would do: Prohibits localities from granting final approval for rezoning, special exceptions, special use permits, site plans, or plans of development for new data centers until either all pending interconnection requests from data center customers to electric utilities are fulfilled or July 1, 2028, whichever is earlier.

What it would do: Amends electric utility rate regulation to prohibit including costs substantially related to serving data center customers with peak demand of 100+ megawatts in general rates unless those costs are recovered solely from data center customers.

What it would do: Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a three-year study modeling aggregate air pollution scenarios in areas with large data center volumes and examining cumulative impacts of data center generators on air quality, emissions, and public health, with findings due by October 1, 2029.

What it would do: Creates a data center land conservation tax of $3 per square foot on data center operators with facilities of 25,000 square feet or more, beginning January 1, 2027, with revenues distributed starting July 1, 2028 to fund land conservation, public access, trails, and tribal programs.

What it would do: Establishes Virginia's Great Outdoors Act and creates a data center land conservation tax of $3 per square foot on data center operators, with no less than $250 million in annual revenues distributed to state parks, trails, land conservation, historic preservation, and tribal programs beginning July 1, 2028.

What it would do: Amends Virginia's electric utility rate regulation to prohibit allocating costs of electric distribution infrastructure primarily serving data center loads to other customers, requiring such costs be recovered solely from the data center customer.

What it would do: Requires local governing bodies to obtain a State Corporation Commission finding of no or minimal impact before approving land-disturbing permits for high load facilities exceeding 90 megawatts electricity demand. Directs the Commission to assess impacts on grid reliability, capacity constraints, and utility obligations within 120 days.

What it would do: Requires any new construction or substantial expansion of a data center to include a rainwater harvesting system capturing runoff from at least 30 percent of roof surface area and use harvested rainwater for non-potable water needs, with systems designed and inspected by certified professionals.

What it would do: Creates a Large-Scale Electricity Consumer Infrastructure Impact Fund and requires large-scale electricity consumers (over 25 megawatts demand) and localities approving them after January 1, 2028 to pay annual infrastructure impact fees to the fund for utility infrastructure costs and residential bill credits.

What it would do: Amends the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund statute to establish requirements for qualified companies to receive grants based on capital investments and new full-time job creation, requiring localities to provide matching funds of at least twice the state grant amount through performance agreements.

What it would do: Eliminates the sales and use tax exemption for computer equipment in data centers if any tenant is a bank as defined in § 58.1-1201, effective July 1, 2026. Requires banks' computer equipment in data centers to be assessed as tangible personal property for tax purposes.