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# Virginia Imposes New Data Center Transparency Rules
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-virginia-2026-09-23-b/
- Published: 2026-09-23T13:49:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T13:49:34.000Z
- Description: Virginia has imposed immediate transparency and planning requirements on data centers while proposing broader energy, environmental and land-use rules for 2027. The package also creates a rapid-response AI task force.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Tech, Virginia

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has ordered immediate transparency and planning requirements for large data centers while proposing a broader package of energy, environmental and land-use rules for the 2027 General Assembly. The move places state agencies under new directives now, but leaves several of the most consequential changes to lawmakers.

[Executive Order 22](https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/eo-22-establishing-va-data-center-accountability-and-ai-initiatives.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com), signed Sept. 18, bars executive-branch agencies from entering or enforcing nondisclosure agreements that prevent public release of material information about proposed commercial data centers, public incentives, resource demands or community impacts. Existing contractual commitments remain in place.

The order also directs the Office of the Chief Energy Officer to publish a planning and community-engagement toolkit within 120 days. That document must address electricity demand, water and wastewater, backup generation, emissions, noise, traffic and public services, while offering model disclosure requests and community-benefit agreements. State agencies must also accelerate work on data-center noise rules and review diesel and other backup generation, according to the governor’s [announcement](https://www.governor.virginia.gov//newsroom/news-releases/2026/september-releases/name-1123696-en.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

## A framework beyond the order

Spanberger’s wider [framework](https://r5siqu4ab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?c=eX2uNvwbE5Hxq6rTSIpZ4UV6k37KJS7uRhjaPZYBMAqxOj-T04hjYA%3D%3D&ch=nk8EQ3vn7kmXdUfZr8077MShG3TUMUbLwo0gSUoAcRSouSRW-qcyKA%3D%3D&f=001DWqWhFm296wH14lkGyPgMrWpm41k9jQuKtYYx446Cp4xtmpAEmIuiqvwmVZKSfcy4qdPlbbU4SKe%5FAEeGhwNPG3pm6YAgotoKGZ-XF0ZsBrIhNexhWllX411qVJtiIxUQcVjoCvMJ%5Fk8KzSB906UAsGLIgDf6-CqcKjWEod3PrHKalixBcqmrLve-xtFH8ii4uNI-6W5YumvL6yk-o5UYPcLvxt4GEIXS2EoJF0HUAeKVqQ-JmAPptOLKHGV9sp9lhEByaxSfRHWP856hSet4-V2gEBzSJ-FsQGkyNqyfRx%5FPTiddEkiGQ%3D%3D&ref=theamericanquorum.com) calls for eliminating by-right approval for facilities using more than 25 megawatts, ending state site-development subsidies for data centers and removing future large projects from fast-track permitting. It also seeks water-efficiency standards, limits on behind-the-meter natural-gas generation and rules assigning more grid costs to data centers and other very large customers.

Those proposals are not all in force. Changes to local approval rules, utility cost allocation and several environmental standards will require legislation or regulatory proceedings. Spanberger said her administration will pursue them in the 2027 session. Independent coverage from [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/virginia-tightens-data-center-restrictions-amid-political-backlash-2026-09-18/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) characterized the package as a response to mounting concern over electricity costs, water use and local impacts in the nation’s largest data-center market.

The order additionally creates a rapid-response artificial-intelligence task force supported by an AI Policy Planning Unit. Its remit includes workforce displacement, privacy and cybersecurity, linking the physical growth of computing infrastructure with the state’s broader technology policy. [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/policy/997573/virginia-governor-spanberger-data-center-ai-task-force?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that the administration is pairing the data-center measures with that new AI governance structure.

The accountability plan rests on five stated pillars: transparent community engagement, environmental protection, energy affordability, clean-energy and grid reliability, and workforce benefits. Among its operational goals, the [order](https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/eo-22-establishing-va-data-center-accountability-and-ai-initiatives.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) tells agencies to develop best practices for local hiring, apprenticeships and procurement and to explore ways for operators to support local energy projects. It assigns the Chief Energy Officer responsibility for coordinating implementation across the executive branch.

The distinction between executive action and proposed law matters. An executive order can direct agencies under the governor’s control, but it cannot by itself rewrite local zoning authority or the rules that regulators use to allocate utility costs. The administration’s own [release](https://www.governor.virginia.gov//newsroom/news-releases/2026/september-releases/name-1123696-en.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com) identifies those items as priorities for legislation, giving lawmakers room to amend, narrow or reject them.

For communities, the near-term effects are narrower than the full framework: state-agency secrecy rules change immediately, planning guidance is due within four months, and noise and backup-power reviews should move faster. The bigger questions—who approves major projects, how utilities distribute new grid costs and what environmental thresholds operators must meet—now shift to the General Assembly and regulators.