VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A group of residents from across Hampton Roads gathered at Virginia Beach Town Center on Tuesday, calling on state leaders to impose a statewide moratorium on new data center development.
The demonstration brought together residents from multiple localities who say Virginia's rapid growth in the data center industry should be paused until lawmakers and regulators can more closely examine environmental, infrastructure and community impacts.
“We don’t really want data centers anywhere in the state other than where they are now,” one protester said during the rally.
According to the Pew Research Center, Virginia leads the nation in data center development, with hundreds of facilities either operating or planned across the state.
Supporters of data center projects argue the facilities generate construction jobs, tax revenue and economic investment for host communities. At the local level, some governments, including Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, have taken steps to temporarily pause or limit additional data center expansion while evaluating future policies.
Chesapeake resident Jeff Staples said a statewide moratorium would offer another layer of protection if local agreements change.
“It would serve as a check on Chesapeake in case they back out of what we’ve already agreed to, then the state moratorium will take precedence over that,” Staples said.
Others at the rally expressed concerns about potential environmental impacts and increased demands on Virginia’s electrical grid.
“I’m obviously very concerned with the data centers and what they’re doing to our environment, to our electrical cost as well,” Portsmouth resident Jennifer Hughes said. “We’ve all been facing higher electrical bills here, and so really I’m just coming out to try to show support for basically pausing building of new data centers in Virginia.”
Students also participated in the demonstration, saying they are worried about long-term environmental effects associated with future development.
“Deforestation, getting rid of trees, is horrible,” said Logan Hickey, a ninth-grade student.
Organizers emphasized they are not seeking to shut down existing facilities. Instead, they are asking state lawmakers to pause approval of new data centers while Virginia studies the industry’s broader impacts on communities, infrastructure and the environment.
The rally is part of a wider effort by advocates hoping to build support for a statewide moratorium during future legislative discussions in Richmond.
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