Virginia Senate passes bill adding regulation to data centers

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Senate passed a bill adding more regulation to data centers on Wednesday, Feb. 12.  

The bill passed by the Virginia Senate states any companies wanting to build a data center in Virginia will now have to get additional approval from the locality they want to build in. This will have to be approved by the locality before any rezoning or special use permit is approved.  

The applicant will have to submit a sound profile of the data center if on residential areas and within 500 feet of schools. Applicants will also have to investigate what effects a data center would have on the water, agriculture, parks, registered historic sites and the land on which the site would be.

Any data centers in Virginia that have already been approved for rezoning will not be impacted, like the nearly $3 billion data center approved by Powhatan County’s Board of Supervisors back in October. 

Virginia is considered the data center capital of the world, with hundreds of companies bringing data center plans here in just the past few years. Companies are attracted to Virginia because of it's wide open space still being near populated areas. Data centers are meant to store, manage and process extremely large amounts of data.

The bill also passed the House back in January. However, the Senate did made an amendment.  

Be sure to stick with 8News as we follow the next steps. 

Here’s the full bill passed by the Senate: 

“A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 22 of Title 15.2 a section numbered 15.2-2209.4, relating to siting of data centers; site assessment; high energy use facility.  

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:  

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 22 of Title 15.2 a section numbered 15.2-2209.4 as follows:  

§ 15.2-2209.4. Siting of data centers; site assessment.  

A. As used in this section, "high energy use facility" or "HEUF" means a facility an applicant reasonably anticipates at the time of filing an application will require 100 megawatts or more of electrical power from an electric utility providing retail service to the facility.  

B. Prior to any approval of a rezoning application, special exception, or special use permit for the siting of a new HEUF, a locality shall require that an applicant perform and submit a site assessment to examine, to the extent practicable and within the timeline provided by subdivision A 7 of § 15.2-2286, the sound profile of the HEUF on residential units and schools located within 500 feet of the HEUF property boundary. A locality may also require that a site assessment examine, to the extent practicable and within the timeline provided by subdivision A 7 of § 15.2-2286, the effect of the proposed facility on (i) ground and surface water resources, (ii) agricultural resources, (iii) parks, (iv) registered historic sites, and (v) forestland on the H EUF site or immediately contiguous land.  

C. Site assessments submitted to a locality under subsection B shall be used by the locality to assess consistency with the policies of the locality's comprehensive plan, if any, and compliance with the locality's adopted noise ordinances, zoning ordinance provisions, and other applicable laws and regulations, if any.  

D. This section shall not apply to any property with an existing legislative or administrative approval where an applicant is seeking an expansion or modification of an already existing or approved facility and such expansion does not exceed an additional 100 megawatts or more of electrical power.  

E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit, limit, or otherwise supersede existing local zoning authority.”