Virginia data center backlash driven by electricity demand, not just tech culture
Local protests in Virginia’s Loudoun County have focused attention on the electricity demands of large AI data centers, prompting new state rules that require data centers to fully pay for new transmission lines and potentially face curtailment during peak demand. Many AI facilities instead plan large onsite gas-turbine power plants and diesel backups (Anthropic has reportedly agreed to a multibillion-dollar turbine purchase), raising local air-pollution and grid-planning concerns.