New Virginia energy plan looks at data centers' impact on energy demand

RICHMOND — How data centers will impact Virginians is part of the latest four-year Virginia Energy Plan.Gov. Abigail Spanberger joined state Chief Energy Officer Josephus Almond and state Department of Energy Director Vince Maiden Thursday for the public unveiling of the 2026 plan.The plan explores five different paths for the state's residential, commercial and industrial energy future, Spanberger said, while tackling what has become a controversy in several communities, states and nationwide — data centers and their impact on residential electricity affordability.Unlike Republican predecessor Glenn Youngkin's 2022 plan, which called for a "moonshot" location of a small modular nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia in a decade, Allmond said the new plan looks at five fiscal and environmental models for energy development:-&emsp;&emsp;Energy development without exiting policy guidance through the state's Clean Energy Act or membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative-&emsp;&emsp;Development with existing policies-&emsp;&emsp;Improved electric utility distribution-&emsp;&emsp;Improved electric grid demand flexibility through technology such as energy storage-&emsp;&emsp;Deployment of some combination of solar, offshore wind generation, nuclear power and non-combustion fuel technologyMaiden and Spanberger said the energy models will be reviewed and updated as the governor and the General Assembly continue discussions leading into the 2027 legislative session.Developments in energy technologies could mean short-term options such as fuel cells could help bridge development of more efficient long-term energy solutions, Allmond added.Public transparency in data center development ties into the new energy plan, Spanberger said. She referred to the Sept. 18 release of Executive Order 22 — the Data Center Accountability Framework — which prevents state agencies from signing non-disclosure agreements with center developers.Spanberger's order also would require developers to provide more detail on their projects' impacts on water supplies, environmental impacts and effects on local power grid distribution. More public involvement in how data centers are discussed and approved are also part of the order.The policy and work with the General Assembly will have to deal with how to require data center developers to "bring their own power" as part of any project, Spanberger said.BYOP provisions could include measures such as center projects bearing their fair share of utility demand costs or making it easier for developers to include their own power supplies in those projects, Spanberger added.Asked about state laws aimed at bringing the state's power production to a zero-carbon level by 2025, Spanberger acknowledged that renewable energy may be more of an option because of limits on new natural gas-fired power plants as well as long-term development of small modular reactor designs. Online:- Virginia Energy Plan 2026: https://www.energy.virginia.gov/public/documents/Virginia%20Energy%20Plan/2026%20VEP%200.1%20.pdf- Executive Order 22 - Data Center Accountability Framework: https://www.governor.virginia.gov//newsroom/news-releases/2026/september-releases/name-1123696-en.html