Virginia's Data Center Order Is Signed. The 25-MW Local Vote Needs Lawmakers.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 22 on Sept. 18, putting the first pieces of a statewide data center accountability framework into effect and sending a longer list of permanent rules to the General Assembly when it convenes in January 2027. The order binds state agencies immediately. The larger siting, permitting, and cost changes still require legislation. "Virginia should be leading the nation in setting the highest standards" for data centers, Spanberger said.

The stakes are concentrated in one market. Virginia has more than 600 data centers operating or under construction, according to the Virginia Mercury. EO 22 bans nondisclosure agreements for data center projects across executive-branch agencies, boards, and commissions; creates a Data Center Planning and Community Engagement Toolkit for localities; expedites state noise regulations that the Department of Environmental Quality otherwise has until 2029 to finish; orders a review of diesel and other backup-generation operations; and establishes an AI task force. The governor did not impose a moratorium on new approvals.

The legislative package goes further. It would eliminate by-right approval and require local approval for any data center drawing more than 25 megawatts, remove large data centers from fast-track permitting, and end state subsidies in site development programs. It would also set energy efficiency, water use, and land impact standards, require utilities to assign more transmission and generation costs to data centers, add grid stability requirements aimed at sudden swings in demand, and limit on-site natural gas generation. Utilities already operate under a GS5 rate class with 14-year contracts for the largest customers, and Microsoft has filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court of Virginia over a separate transmission cost tariff, the Mercury reported.

Several of those items land directly on electrical scope. The backup-generation review and the proposed cap on behind-the-meter gas generation target the gensets, paralleling switchgear, and transfer schemes that sit at the center of a data center's standby power design. Grid stability rules point toward load controls and ride-through requirements that get specified, installed, and commissioned on site. A mandatory local approval step above 25 megawatts would add a public hearing before site work can begin on any project above that threshold, which covers hyperscale campuses.

The workforce provisions are less specific but relevant to hiring. EO 22 directs the administration to develop best practices for quality job creation and local workforce opportunities. The legislative framework adds priorities for local hiring and Virginia business procurement, workforce training goals, responsible contractor standards, and support for labor agreements and registered apprenticeship programs. No apprenticeship ratios, wage floors, or contractor qualification thresholds were published with the announcement, so the terms electrical contractors would have to meet remain undefined until bill text is filed.

The order is in effect now. The 25-megawatt local vote, the cost allocation rules, and the labor standards wait on the 2027 session.