Google plans a $1 billion investment in Northern Virginia data centers, and in welcoming the move, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said it underscores the need for his “all of the above” energy plan, citing a controversial proposal for a gas-fired power plant in Chesterfield County as an example.
Google’s investment will include expanding its two Loudoun County data centers and building a third facility in Prince William County, said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent firm Alphabet.
“Google’s $1 billion investment is a … demonstration that Virginia is competing to win, and we want to be at the forefront,” Youngkin said, speaking at the Reston event in Fairfax County. Porat announced the investment, as well as a $75 million fund to provide training in Artificial Intelligence applications, much like a cybersecurity certificate program Google and Youngkin announced last year.
People are also reading…
Northern Virginia already hosts the world’s largest concentration of data centers, which generate billions of dollars of tax revenue and wages.
But data centers have sparked objections from Northern Virginians who say they are encroaching on homes and schools, parks and national battlefields. They also worry about the amount of land and water the centers need.
The energy demand grows
Youngkin said: “As we grow, the power demand accelerates as well. And that’s why when we launched our all of the above all American energy plan.”
Youngkin’s energy plan says natural gas will remain part of Virginia’s energy mix, along with what Youngkin has described as a “moonshot” effort to develop small nuclear reactors. The plan also calls for research into hydrogen fuel, more efficient batteries and carbon capture as well as the wind- and solar-power generation required by the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which went into force before Youngkin took office.
“It’s important that we do embrace all forms so that we can have reliable, affordable and increasingly clean power that powers Virginia’s future,” Youngkin said.
“And we see it all around us. We have the largest offshore wind farm in development off the coast in Hampton Roads. We have a natural gas plant in development in Chesterfield County. And three years ago, Virginia was granted a license to build a third nuclear reactor in North Anna,” he added.
Dominion Energy’s plans for a gas-fired plant in Chesterfield have sparked opposition from neighbors as well as from environmentalists, who say it violates the Clean Economy Act and will contribute to climate change.
Last month, nine Richmond-area General Assembly Democrats joined in a statement to say they oppose the plan, citing “the impact this proposed plant has on statewide efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage, lower carbon emissions, enforce the Commonwealth’s policy on environmental justice, and pursue renewable energy sources and technologies.”
Richmond area data centers
Beyond Northern Virginia, the enormous amount of electricity that data centers need has fueled environmentalists’ concerns, especially since Dominion Energy, the state’s largest electric utility, says data center growth is one reason why it will have to keep generating some electricity with generators powered by fossil fuel.
Wooing data centers is a goal for economic development officials locally.
Henrico County, which already hosts two data centers at its White Oak Technology Park, has designated data centers as a target for its economic development authority. It sets a special tax rate of 40 cents per $100 assessed value for data center computers. That is well below its standard $3.50 per $100 business personal property rate for equipment, furniture and other movable property.
The county planning commission has given a first stamp of approval to a developer’s plan to rezone 622 acres near White Oak as a technology park to house data centers.
And a Denver-based firm wants to develop a 1,211-acre stretch of rural land east of Ashland as a park for data centers with up to 46 buildings and 862 employees. It says it expects the taxable value of the park’s buildings and other land improvements would reach nearly $4 billion within 14 years. The value of the equipment on the site could eventually exceed $23 billion, according to Hanover County planning records.
Virginia offers an exemption from retail sales and use tax for data centers’ computer equipment. Virginia was the first state to offer data center tenants the sales tax exemption.