Data Center Development in Virginia
Local Policies Needed to Address Land Use, Energy, Carbon Emissions, and Water Impacts 2025
Energy, Carbon Emissions and Air Pollution
Mitigate for increases in local carbon emissions attributed to new data centers by ensuring
those impacts are measured and integrated into county climate planning and in conformance
with county, city or town emissions goals.Regulation of the Data Center Industry should be structured to meet the Virginia Clean Economy
Act goal of 73% clean energy by 2035 and 100% clean energy by 2045 and the Fairfax County
CECAP interim goal of 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.Through the local land use process, require that data center owners/builders/operators commit
to and secure renewable energy sources of electricity.Require on-site microgrids powered by renewable energy for each building, utilizing multiple
technology renewables such as solar or wind with battery storage to provide 50% of the
electricity for each data center. Install onsite solar (e.g. rooftop, parking lot canopies) or other
renewable energy sources and invest in or commit to secure offsite renewable energy.Substantiate renewable energy use of each building with reporting annual requirements and
make the information available to the public.Avoid the use of unhealthy diesel fuel for back-up generators.
If diesel backup generators are utilized, use of best available technology to minimize air
pollution from backup generators, such as the use of Tier IV backup generators, or Tier II
generators equipped with selective catalytic reduction systems (SCRs). Prioritize replacing
existing Tier II generators with Tier IV (or best available technology generators).If diesel fuel is used for back-up generators, ensure that transportation of that fuel is designed
for highly safe ingress and egress and that it is delivered during non-peak hours. A
transportation/traffic analysis and plan should take into consideration the transportation and
safe delivery of diesel fuel, truck emissions and impacts on nearby residents and businesses.Use solar covered parking/renewable energy for office operations, EV charging on site, outdoor
lighting, etc. to reduce stress on the grid.Residents should be protected from costs associated with data center developments.
Ratepayers are entitled to a transparent understanding of the true costs borne by the public for
data center industrial development. An analysis of the expected cost of infrastructure
expansion necessary to service data center demand for energy, water, transmission lines, sewer,
new roads, energy substations should be conducted as part of the approval process.
Siting and Land Development Impacts
Remove data centers and substations as a “by right” uses in local ordinances.
Require data centers to be sited in industrial zones. Industrial zones for data centers should be
located away from residential neighborhoods, schools, day care centers, parks, hospitals and
other public places ensuring no noise and limited visual impacts.To minimize exposure to noxious emissions and noise, diesel generators should be located as far
from residential development, public amenities and environmentally-sensitive areas.Data centers should not be sited within one mile of metro and major transit.
Siting of a substation, especially one designed to service a hyperscale data center, adjacent or
near to residential development is not recommended. If a substation is proposed on the same
site as the data center it serves, it should be located away from residential developments to
minimize visibility, carbon emissions and noise.Industrial equipment (generators and cooling) and infrastructure (substations) should be fenced
and buffered by mature trees.Transmission lines should be undergrounded to the extent practicable. Siting transmission in
stream corridors and ecologically sensitive areas should be avoided.Minimize impervious surface created by data center uses. Require that parking requirements be
linked to the likely number of permanent jobs per facility. Use porous pavement to reduce
impervious surface.Existing tree canopy be preserved. Native Plantings should include large trees planted along the
perimeter of the building to help buffer visual and noise impacts.Clusters of data centers should incorporate wildlife corridors and native plantings. Wildlife
corridors should be sized to meet the habitat requirements of species likely to use them.Decommissioning procedures and plans should be made available before approval.
Water Quantity and Quality
The jurisdiction and public should be aware of how specifically a change in the Comprehensive
Plan (CP or CPA) or Rezoning (RZ) would impact regional drinking water capacity and
quality. Water impact studies should be performed before CP/CPA and RZ approvals and made
public to ensure that anticipated demand can be met without imperiling other water users.Data centers should employ best available technology to ensure high water efficiency.
Anticipated water sources should be evaluated with the goal of limiting water use;
Hydrogeologic studies be conducted to evaluate the impact on groundwater. Impacts to
residences without public water supply who rely on wells should be protected.Water should be recycled or reclaimed and should neither deplete nor imperil surface or
groundwater sources needed for drinking water.Water infrastructure costs should primarily be borne by the data center developer, in order to
protect public utility ratepayers.Due to concerns about the cumulative impacts on regional sources of drinking water, drinking
water should be designated as a priority use during drought conditions.Water pollution prevention measures should protect soils and capture chemical residue.
Water run-off from roofs and impermeable surfaces should be captured and retained on-site to
protect water bodies from pollution and erosion.Avoid cooling system discharge into the wastewater system and, if needed, provide pre-
treatment. Utilize cooling systems that do not discharge to the wastewater or stormwater systems, or use non-chemical and non-water-based cooling systems.
Building Energy Efficiency
Require state of the art building and cooling efficiency. Virginia data centers should be in the top
10% nationwide for efficiency and water use.Thermal heat should be captured for beneficial reuse; releases into the atmosphere should be
eliminated. Innovative design should be required to capture waste heat to utilize it for
residential, commercial or industrial energy use through proven waste heat recovery methods.A data center should achieve a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1 or lower to promote
energy efficiency. The voluntary sharing of annual facility energy consumption and PUE should
be made public.Data centers should ensure a minimum of the most up-to-date version LEED BD+C (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design Building Design and Construction) Data Center Gold
certification (or equivalent program), achieving at least 16 of the 18 points available in the
Optimize Energy Performance section of the Energy and Atmosphere category or a recognized
industry equivalent such as EnergyStar certification, with a certification score of at least 90
points. LEED for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) rating systems should also be utilized.
ASHRAE 90.46 or the most up-to-date versions should also be required. All buildings should be
constructed and operated using best practices or better in the industry with respect to building
construction, noise attenuation, and cooling technologies. Prior to the issuance of the
permanent certificate of occupancy for such building, a licensed engineer or architect should
provide the Planning Department with certification that such building was constructed
according to the standards specified under LEED Gold or EnergyStar certification at the 90-point
scoring level. Any other recognized building industry equivalent that may be used for the
building design and construction must produce equal or better energy efficiency performance
than the two standards mentioned above.Before a data center is approved, the energy utility should provide an assessment of future
energy needs and impacts to existing and future power infrastructure attributed to the addition
of that facility. That information should be made available to the public.
Noise and Visual Impacts
Buffers reduce noise and improve visual impacts. Buffers of at least 500 feet should be
required. Siting in the vicinity of residential housing, schools, hospitals, public lands and related
uses, should have additional set back requirements and noise mitigation.Acoustical and visual impact studies should be conducted before any land use approvals.
Local noise ordinances should be updated to ensure that there are no adverse health and quality
of life impacts due to high decibel levels from the cumulative impacts of operations, including
generators and cooling equipment. Exceeding those levels must be enforced with stiff penalties.
State-of-the-art noise mitigation and buffering methods should be utilized to alleviate the
unique 24/7 noise/humming of data centers to ensure quiet operation at night and on the
weekends. Smart site planning and building design, should reduce noise levels of data center
operations.Taller buildings can, in theory, help optimize land preservation. However, they can also result in
increased aggregate noise with fewer options to mitigate noise with traditional buffers, such as
a trees or walls. More floors mean more servers and more noise, and any acoustical studies
must be designed appropriately for the total number of noise- producing cooling and related
components in mind.Back-up generators from any power source must be included in the county noise ordinances.
Generator maintenance and cooling equipment cannot exceed the residential noise threshold at
any time or for any purpose and penalties should be harsh so as to reduce the incentive to “pay
to play.”