Viewpoint: Virginia’s powerful problem

By Paul Gilbert

Data centers, global climate change, the merger of power companies, and corporate money in politics seem like different issues, but they are all connected – in some ways literally, through power lines, and in other ways through cause and effect.

Let’s “think globally, and act locally.” Climate change is driven by too much carbon in the atmosphere, and that pollution is accelerating because of the giant energy needs of the AI revolution and the fast expansion of data centers.

Because Northern Virginia is the center of the data center boom, Virginia is the second largest importer of electric power behind California. This oversized energy consumption, and the higher rates that you and I are paying, is exactly why NextEra Energy is trying to buy Dominion Energy.

Related story: Dominion sale raises alarm bells

Local governments need the tools to address data centers, and those tools have to come from Richmond. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, meaning local governments have only the powers the General Assembly gives them.

Look at the data center proposed for Edsall Road inside the Beltway in Fairfax County: Nobody wants it there, but local officials can only weigh in on the land use issues related to the electrical substation, not the actual data center.

In 2025, a bipartisan bill that would have let localities consider impacts on water, power infrastructure, and nearby neighborhoods passed the General Assembly, only to be vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Let’s give decision-makers the tools they need to do their jobs. While it’s marketed as a “merger,” NextEra is buying Dominion Energy. NextEra is offering some short-term benefits, but what it’s really buying is the energy consumption of Virginia and you and I as the ratepayers.

We already have a serious problem with Dominion, which is supposed to be a regulated monopoly. Between 2013 and 2023, Dominion spent over $25 million on political contributions.

Today, Kelsey Bagot, a former NextEra Energy attorney, chairs Virginia’s State Corporation Commission, which has the responsibility to approve or reject the proposed “merger.”

In 2024, the General Assembly elected Bagot as a commissioner. How does a conflict of interest this obvious happen? Corporate political contributions are a big part of the answer. An even larger, and more powerful, monopoly is not the answer to long-term affordability for you and me.

These related problems are not easy, but they are all solvable:

(1) While the governor, lieutenant governor, and some members of the General Assembly are asking for more time to study the NextEra-Dominion merger, what we really need is for them to say No. You and I are already paying more for energy. Clearly, NextEra is hoping the Virginia electric market will become even more profitable.

(2) Hawaii and Montana have taken legislative steps this year to get corporate money out of politics by changing the powers the state grants to corporations. Eliminating corporate political giving will strengthen our democracy and reduce these conflicts of interest. The Virginia General Assembly should act on this right away.

(3) Local governments need more tools to make thoughtful decisions related to data centers. The General Assembly should empower localities to consider power, water, and associated infrastructure when they consider these applications. The General Assembly should grant local governments the powers they need.

(4) We need the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality or the federal EPA to establish regulations on the use of power and water by data centers. Our environmental regulations were written for a previous era; they need to be updated.

(5) To achieve ecological balance, some of the revenue data centers generate should fund the protection and expansion of natural areas. Trees are our best carbon-capture machines. Photosynthesis works! Expanded parks and natural areas will absorb carbon from the air and recharge the aquifers we depend on for fresh water. This is how we can achieve real sustainability.

The AI revolution and the resulting explosion of data centers have caught policymakers unprepared. The five steps above would solve Virginia’s powerful problem, and in the process, strengthen our democracy, improve affordability, and address climate change. These are all doable solutions that need action.

Paul Gilbert was recently appointed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger to the Board of Conservation and Recreation. He is executive in residence for the Recreation Management Program at George Mason University and was the executive director of NOVA Parks from 2005 to 2025.