Virginia Grassroots Coalition - Climate
@vgcclimate.bsky.social
VirginiaGrassroots.org Working group for Climate and Clean Energy within the coalition. Supporting VA legislation to lower emissions and accelerate an affordable, clean energy economy. https://virginiagrassroots.org/coalition-wg-climate.php
Sign the petition telling the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to listen to Southwest Virginia residents and reject MVP Boost!
Tell FERC - Reject the Mountain Valley Pipeline Expansion
Local organizing stopped a major fossil-fuel project in Virginia—for now. Help make sure federal regulators do not revive it. Sign the letter to reject the MVP Boost!
actionnetwork.org
The data center industry is going after our water. Aquifers especially.
Virginia Mercury@virginiamercury.com · yesterdayCOMMENTARY: A new DEQ groundwater study raises fresh questions about whether data center growth east of I-95 is sustainable. Ivy Main argues the findings should prompt Virginia to rethink expansion plans in water-stressed regions before approving more projects. virginiamercury.com/2026/08/04/d...
A data center was just shut down in Wisconsin after the town council refused to have private talks with the developer and told them everything would include public approval That’s how it’s done, folks
Even when you do your part to lower your own electricity use, your energy bill in Virginia keeps rising while Dominion and the data center industry keep profiting. It’s corporate greed run amok. End the data center sales tax exemption + enact a statewide moratorium. www.reuters.com/business/ene...
Top US data center-serving utility Dominion tops profit estimates
Dominion Energy , the U.S. electric utility covering the world's biggest data center territory, reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue on Friday as demand from server wareho...
reuters.com
Governors can take the lead on making data centers better neighbors. "Require every project to have what amounts to a Community Benefit Plan." - Jigar Shah
Jigar Shah@jigarshahdc.bsky.social · 2d agoAre your elected officials using the past to plan for the future of your communities?
Zeke Hausfather@zekehausfather.com · 3d agoI'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
"The EPA said if the power plants are not supplying electricity to the grid then they would not be subject to the federal Clean Air Act's Acid Rain Program, which has been key to the dramatic reduction of smog and soot pollution from industrial facilities." www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
EPA says power for data centers can sidestep pollution laws
Power sources providing electricity only to data centers and not the public grid may not be subject to federal pollution laws, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday.
reuters.com
Hood County Texas residents choose to 'Break Rank' and become single issue voters. Hear what living near a hyperscaler in a rural county has done to their quality of life in very specific terms. What's the 'fair share' data centers might pay to these front-line communities? Incalculable.
Gina Hinojosa: Data Centers are Taking Over Texas
YouTube video by Gina Hinojosa
youtube.com
Petersburg area people - please show up to give your input on Virginia's 10-year Energy Plan. This is the only public meeting - others have been invitation only🫤. ▶️A public meeting will be held in Petersburg on Monday Aug. 3 2026 at the public library at 5:30 pm. More here⬇️
Virginia Mercury@virginiamercury.com · 6d agoWhat should be included in Virginia's next energy plan? The governor's administration is seeking public input on a new outline of the commonwealth’s energy needs and how the state intends to address high energy costs while meeting its power generation goals. virginiamercury.com/briefs/spanb...
A report that was held up - until the state budget was complete. Water use by data centers one of the many guardrails requested and not delivered by the GA. We have questions.
Shannon Heckt@shannonheckt.bsky.social · 6d ago"Deeply concerning" groundwater report urges state senators to ask governor to call special session to pass policies to rein in water use. #valeg #vagov virginiamercury.com/briefs/virgi...
Loudoun County, the home of Data Center Alley, is considering hitting pause on all new data center applications. They're not the only community in the commonwealth thinking about slowing down the industry while they work out regulations. #valeg #vagov virginiamercury.com/2026/07/30/l...
Loudoun County, other Virginia localities consider hitting the brakes on data center development • Virginia Mercury
Supervisor presses board to pause review of data center applications amid comprehensive plan review
virginiamercury.com
Closed-loop water cooling concentrates a data center's contaminants. Closed-loop cooling has higher energy costs. Going apeshit is the right response to rules (see Ohio proposal) that would allow data center wastewaters to be dumped. Municipal water systems need defense too.
Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️🌈@ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 7d agoTo everyone else: stop claiming that closed-loop cooling solves the DC water crisis. Sure, less water evaporates, turns into clouds, and rains down on all the ships at sea, but closed loop cooling relies on toxics like carcinogenic forever chemicals (PFAS) and must be swapped out every few cycles.
"This appeal is about more than a single transmission line. It is about electrical infrastructure equity, ensuring that the communities required to host electrical infrastructure built entirely for the benefit of data centers are not required to bear a disproportionate share of its burdens."
wusa9.com
😡 "Vantage Data Centers came under fire for its apparent coordination with Virginia environmental regulators to cast doubt on a report that said diesel backup generators could contribute to tens of millions of dollars in annual health damages for people living near a 96 megawatt data center."
TechCrunch@techcrunch.com · last wk.The largest grid operator in the U.S. says it will cut power to large data centers to prevent blackouts starting next year.
Round-the-clock disruptions drive a Central Virginia man to file a lawsuit against Amazon as it seeks to build its latest digital warehouse in the commonwealth. #valeg #vagov virginiamercury.com/2026/07/28/b...
Brown water, dust and loud noises: Louisa homeowner sues Amazon over data center construction • Virginia Mercury
From the driveway of his Louisa home and business, Austin Newsome sees dozens of dump trucks barrel down Route 33 most days, hauling dirt and other debris. The road is stained rusty red from the soil ...
virginiamercury.com
An excellent summary of the issues with the data center boom, and how communities end up footing the bill. Source: @moreperfectunion.bsky.social
Data center developers are building up gas generation to meet their soaring electricity needs. It’s not going to work for long. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/data-centers/data-center-off-grid-gas
Data center demand is soaring, and off-grid gas won't fix the problem
As tech firms look to build their own gas generators, a new report reveals that likely won’t be enough to avoid a hefty power shortfall in the coming…
canarymedia.com
Over half a million Americans are now organizing against data centers — a stunning number. Check out the full report here: datacenteropposition.com.
Take a look at Illinois legislature accomplishments on energy issues: utility bill transparency for residential customers, and protections for the most vulnerable households. Also faster interconnection for projects on schools and a path forward for more solar projects. 👏👏
Joshua Basseches@joshuabasseches.bsky.social · 2w agoBipartisan problem-solving in Illinois: www.utilitydive.com/news/illinoi...
Batteries. Batteries everywhere and for everyone. And data centers to pay for them. Put them in our neighborhoods, in our school buses, and community centers. Be better neighbors you wizards.
TechCrunch@techcrunch.com · 2w agoA close call in Northern Virginia revealed just how poorly data centers respond to grid disruptions. Here's how to fix the problem.
This is the project the VAleg didn't want to stop. Yes, we're great for business 🤑.
Activate Virginia@activateva.bsky.social · 2w ago"The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday supporting a proposed $100 billion data center campus at Berry Hill Industrial Park..."
Virginia - input to the 20 year Virginia Energy Plan is open for public comment through the survey until July 31. Let's give them all the good ideas for accelerating the affordable clean energy transition. energy.virginia.gov/va-energy-pl...
Jigar Shah@jigarshahdc.bsky.social · 2w agoResidential rates should be fixed at a rate increase of 50% of inflation. We have the technology to make this happen. Force culture change within the Utility to make this happen.
Holiday in the climate emergency. No that’s not AI or edited, just a snapshot I just took with my phone on Lacanau beach in France. What future will this boy grow up in? It is in our hands, but time is running out.
Dominion’s average residential bill increased from $149.92 to a projected $180 — roughly 20% — in the last year. If NextEra takes over, that number will continue climbing. Senator @scvanvalkenburg.bsky.social lays out his concerns about the proposal in a @richmond.com guest column, published today.
Why NextEra’s Dominion takeover could mean higher electric bills for Virginians | Guest column
Virginia families are already facing soaring electricity bills, and the proposed NextEra-Dominion merger would make matters worse by shifting control of Virginia’s electric grid to an out-of-state cor...
richmond.com
RGGI sets the market shift to a clean electricity future with resiliency investments along the way. Don't let data center and utility profiteering pollute us instead.
Charles Paullin@cpaullinva.bsky.social · 2w agoVirginia is back in the carbon market known as RGGI. The state brings its data center demand and new gas plant proposals, which create cost challenges. Virginia is 27th in the U.S. in using electricity from renewables, which don't pay the RGGI fee. insideclimatenews.org/news/2407202...
State environmental regulators are asking for feedback on the best ways to involve Virginia communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental harms in projects that directly affect them. virginiamercury.com/2026/07/24/d...
DEQ asks Virginians how to best engage environmental justice communities during permitting process • Virginia Mercury
When the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality reviews permits for proposed projects that would impact water, air, or land, the agency must consider whether projects would be in or near…
virginiamercury.com
💥 The oil/gas industry “publicly underplayed the concerns over methane. And as the natural gas industry faced increasing competition from electric stoves and heaters, industry groups worked on an advertising campaign that highlighted gas as a clean fuel.” Gift: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/c...
Oil Firms Knew for Decades of Methane’s Danger to Planet, Documents Suggest (Gift Article)
The companies knew they were releasing more of the greenhouse gas than they publicly reported, according to industry files cited by the Center for Climate Integrity, an activist organization.
nytimes.com
A new analysis has shown that New England's offshore wind farms prevented significant strain on the electric grid during the most recent heatwave, and that positive impact would've been much greater if the Trump administration would quit trying to stop construction at new offshore wind farms.
Data centers' water quality impacts are poorly understood because industry assures us that cooling systems are "closed loop." In fact, the evaporative process concentrates contaminants, which are then flushed into public waterbodies along w chemicals added to prevent pipe corrosion.
Data centers face a new environmental concern
Construction of data center pipes can produce wastewater that is troubling to sewer systems and that current regulations may not sufficiently address.
eenews.net
