Spanberger slaps new guardrails on data centers
Por Adam Aton — POLITICO – TOP Stories
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) on Friday unveiled what she called the “highest standards in America” for data centers, including what she said is the country’s first crackdown on on-site power plants using natural gas.
“Starting today, this industry won’t have carte blanche to play by their own rules in Virginia,” Spanberger said at a press conference in Richmond.
The moderate Democrat unveiled a package of executive actions that would place new limits on data centers, including a prohibition on nondisclosure agreements, a requirement of community benefits agreements, limits on gas generation and incentives for data centers to bring their own clean energy. Some of the policies would need to come through legislation. Spanberger said she was also creating a task force on artificial intelligence focused on privacy and child safety.
Data centers have become a major issue in the midterms, with candidates on both sides of the aisle scrambling to keep up with rapidly shifting public opinion. Democrats who once embraced data centers for their economic potential have pivoted to call for guardrails on them.
Spanberger’s move comes amid a broader bipartisan push by governors to draw sharper lines around data centers and artificial intelligence — and comes the same day that Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed an executive order putting new restrictions on data centers that want state tax breaks.
Northern Virginia is home to the world’s densest concentration of data centers. That’s made the commonwealth a flashpoint for public anger over rising power bills, as well as the facilities’ noise and air pollution. It’s also elevated Virginia into a leading indicator of how Democrats might try and balance public backlash with a tempting boom in economic development.
Virginia will play a particularly influential role in the 2028 presidential primary as one of the early states in that contest — meaning Spanberger’s handling of the issue, and Republicans’ response, could provide an important road map for Democrats who want to be president.
Spanberger earlier this year beat back a bipartisan push in the state Legislature to repeal data center tax incentives. That led to a months-long budget impasse that nearly ended in the state’s first government shutdown — and led Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas (D) to dub Spanberger a “data center diva.”
The governor, along with House Democrats, agreed to a new energy consumption tax on data centers, capped at $600 million annually for two years. But Spanberger has held firm on tax breaks, arguing that repealing the sector’s tax incentives would be like “breaking a contract” and could undermine Virginia’s other economic development programs.
The same budget agreement directed a legislative panel to examine data center subsidies and offer recommendations for next year’s legislative session.
Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories
