RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) – The growth of the internet and the rise of artificial intelligence are fueling a boom in the construction of data centers here in Virginia.
A new study from the state details benefits such as construction jobs and tax revenues, as well as challenges including the amount of energy they require and the impact on communities where they are located.
Most of the state’s data centers are clustered in northern Virginia, but a few are located outside the region, including a Microsoft data center in Mecklenburg County.
Plans for a large data center campus in Pittsylvania County have drawn opposition from residents there, but the developer recently submitted a revised proposal it hopes can win county approval.
Monday morning, Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission delivered a long-awaited study.
Project Leader Mark Gribbin noted that one data center project can employ up to 1500 people during peak construction.
“Again, these are extremely large facilities that are being built with massive electrical piping and HVAC needs,” Gribbin told lawmakers. “So, in addition to skilled construction jobs like concrete and steel workers, there are also hundreds of electricians, pipefitters and other fairly well compensated trade workers.”
The report also identified challenges associated with the boom in data center construction, most notably the huge amount of energy they require. The report said building enough generating facilities to meet the demand will be difficult and will likely lead to higher energy prices for all customers.
“Even a small 18-megawatt facility is roughly equivalent to a mid-sized automobile plant, 65 large office buildings or 4500 homes,” Gribbin said. “However, most data centers being built now are much larger, drawing from 100 to over 200 megawatts of power, which is more than most industrial customers.”
Virginia has more than a third of all large data centers in the world, because of the internet infrastructure in northern Virginia, the proximity to Washington DC and a sales tax exemption.
The last part of that equation, the sales tax exemption, could give state lawmakers some leverage, if they decide to rein in construction of data centers in the future.
Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.