NORFOLK, Va. — A Virginia state senator is calling for an immediate moratorium on data center approvals and development in the Commonwealth, as debate over the facilities continues to grow.
Republican State Sen. Glen Sturtevant, who represents Chesterfield County area, sent a letter to Gov. Abigail Spanberger asking her to issue an executive order halting the approval and development of data centers in Virginia.
"Data center projects should not continue advancing while Virginia is still deciding whether they can be accommodated at all and what rules should govern them," Sturtevant said in the letter.
Virginia is considered a hub for data centers, with estimates suggesting the state is home to 35% of them worldwide. The centers manage and process data across the internet, including websites people use daily. But as they have grown in Virginia, so have concerns about their impact on the environment and the power grid.
Newport News resident Amanda Doughty has been vocal in her opposition to a large-scale data center coming to Hampton Roads.
"The ramifications of the environmental impact, the health impact, the financial impact are just too harmful to ignore. Some things are just more important than money," Doughty told News in December 2025.
Doughty expressed support for proposals like a moratorium, saying she wanted to speak with lawmakers to "either stop data centers like a moratorium or creating stricter regulations for new ones and tightening the regulations that we currently have surrounding existing ones."
Not everyone agrees with the moratorium proposal. Nicole Reilly, director of Virginia government affairs for the Data Center Coalition, responded to the proposal in a statement.
"Moratoriums on data centers send a signal that an area is closed for business, both for data centers and for other significant economic development projects," Reilly said in part.
Reilly has also pointed to what she sees as the economic benefits the industry brings to Virginia.
"We just really want folks to just fully understand the full impact that the industry has had as part of Virginia's economy. We're a significant driver. As we mentioned, you know, we support over 79,000 jobs," Reilly said in a previous interview with News 3.
So far, it does not appear Spanberger has responded to Sturdevant's letter.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
