Virginia

Virginia has a pivotal opportunity to shape climate policy—and our climate future—in the United States. It’s at the center of the nation’s data center boom; Loudoun County (aka “Data Center Alley”) in the Washington, D.C., area hosts the world’s largest concentration of these facilities. And with data centers eating up enormous quantities of energy and straining the power grid, Virginia can no longer rely on older, expensive, unreliable fossil fuel–fired plants for its electricity. That’s why NRDC is working with local partners, utilities, and state leaders to hold tech companies accountable for investing in upgrading the grid and prioritizing clean energy for their operations, as well as for paying their fair share for electricity usage—so that costs are not shifted to Virginians. 

Smart energy policy is also critical to helping Virginia maintain its commitment to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multistate program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which NRDC has helped steer for nearly two decades. Since joining RGGI in 2020, Virginia has slashed its power plant air pollution by 20 percent and directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward flooding resilience and energy efficiency upgrades to low-income homes, funded by some of the state’s biggest corporate air polluters. Given that many Virginians are seeing intensifying climate impacts in their backyards—from sea level rise along the coast in the Hampton Roads region to increasing smog and soot pollution in some urban areas—these efforts are key to ensuring a more durable and healthy future for all.

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