Data Centers: Why Are They Here and What Do They Mean for Our Environment?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, data centers are no longer just a trending topic in the news—they are a visible and rapidly expanding presence across the region. Communities throughout Northern Virginia are feeling the effects of this growth, and within the broad environmental community, data centers have become an increasingly urgent subject of discussion. Understanding why they are concentrated here, and what that means for our environment, is essential to shaping a more sustainable future.

Data centers are imposing facilities that house vast networks of servers that store, process, and distribute digital information. Essentially, a warehouse for thousands of computers that function as the backbone of the internet, supporting everything from cloud storage and streaming services to financial transactions and government operations. Northern Virginia has emerged as the world’s leading hub for data centers, but why? 

70% of the global internet traffic goes through Northern Virginia, and there are roughly 250 data centers here. The region’s proliferation of data centers can be traced to early federal investments in fiber-optic infrastructure, which established a dense network of high-capacity fiber-optic cables that converge in Northern Virginia. Today,this network serves as a critical junction for internet traffic, with Ashburn, Virginia, commonly referred to as the middle of “Data Center Alley”, its central hub. Proximity to Washington, D.C., further enhances its importance, particularly for government, defense, and financial institutions that depend on secure, high-speed, high-bandwidth connectivity. Additionally, the region contains a high concentration of “dark fiber,” or dormant fiber-optic cables that are activated once connected to operational machinery.  Other factors include the historical lack of natural disasters in the region, stable weather patterns, and a strong desire from local governments to support and work with data center developers.

Photo by Hugh Kenny of Peidmont Environmental Council

Economic and policy conditions have also played a significant role in accelerating development. Recognizing that the area is prime real estate for these centers, some areas have welcomed them with open arms to boost the local economy.  Virginia offers substantial tax incentives to data center operators, including exemptions on equipment purchases contingent on meeting investment and job-creation thresholds. These incentives, extended through 2035, have made the state one of the most attractive locations in the country for large-scale data infrastructure. At the local level, jurisdictions such as Loudoun and Prince William counties have implemented zoning and permitting frameworks that streamline approval processes. For instance, the creation of a Data Center Overlay District in Prince William County has allowed facilities to be constructed “by right” in designated areas, without local government hearings or special permits. 

Despite their economic contributions, data centers pose a range of environmental and community challenges. One of the most immediate impacts is land use change. The construction of large-scale facilities involves extensive land clearing, leading to habitat loss, ecosystem fragmentation, and reduced biodiversity. These transformations will have long-term consequences for local wildlife and watershed health. 

Besides the toll these centers take on our environment, they also raise concerns about resource consumption. Industrial-level fans and HVAC systems are required to prevent overheating of the computers within facilities. Water is used for another form of cooling computers, either pumped through pipes around them or evaporated in chilling towers. A 2023 study of data centers in Northern Virginia found that they consume about 2 billion gallons of water annually. That’s equivalent to the annual water use of 20,000 American homes.  

Energy demand represents another critical concern. Data centers require substantial and continuous electricity to function, placing increasing strain on regional power infrastructure. As demand grows, these data centers will necessitate expanded energy generation capacity, with implications for both cost and environmental sustainability. Compounding this issue is the widespread use of diesel-powered backup generators. These systems are designed to ensure uninterrupted operation during power outages or periods of peak demand; however, their emissions include pollutants that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies as harmful to human health. The placement of such generators in residential areas has intensified concerns about localized air-quality impacts.

Photo by Hugh Kenny of the Piedmont Environmental Council

The effects that datacenters have on their surroundings aren’t just limited to some open space miles away.  A third of all datacenters in Northern Virginia are sited within 500 feet of residentially zoned areas. Along with using up freshwater and polluting the air with diesel smoke, you can also expect a constant humming noise from the fans and cooling towers used to keep data centers cool. Although not always perceptible to the human ear, this persistent sound output is not only distracting but has been associated with disturbances to both human populations and wildlife. Constant noise disturbance can throw off animals trying to communicate with one another and drive them away from their homes and typical foraging areas, because, like humans, they find the noise annoying! Residents of Loudoun County who live near data centers have taken notice; one neighbor told the BBC that he sees fewer birds in his neighborhood than when he first moved there. This isn’t surprising as Loudoun County is home to 200-plus data center facilities.  For people, constant humming, even at 20Hz, which is low on the sound scale, can cause headaches, sleep loss, nausea, and dizziness because it disrupts cardiac function. 

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technologies is expected to further accelerate data center growth. As AI quickly advances from generating text to creating lifelike images and videos, the demand for more computational resources will increase. While this technological evolution offers societal benefits, it also exacerbates existing environmental pressures from data center proliferation. Like many in the environmental world, you may begin to question whether it’s a worthy trade-off. 

The question of how to balance economic development with environmental stewardship is urgent. Although decisions regarding large-scale infrastructure are often made at higher levels of government, local engagement remains a critical part of the planning process. Public input has already influenced discussions around zoning, noise regulation, and environmental oversight in Northern Virginia and other parts of the U.S. Continued participation by residents, conservation organizations, and policymakers will be essential in shaping outcomes that reflect both community needs and ecological priorities. 

But what do you do when something or someone so powerful is able to plow ahead doing what they’re doing? If you can’t beat them, join ‘em? Not entirely. At Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, we emphasize that meaningful change often begins with informed, local action. We’re no strangers to datacenters. NVCT has accomplished work to secure critically rare habitats in Northern Virginia by working with Compass Data Center. At the time, this project was controversial and new for us, but in reality, it wasn’t much different than other conservation wins we’ve had before by working with developers or other larger-scale landowners. We always strive for the best possible outcome for the land and Northern Virginians, and conservation happens when we work with willing landowners. Our options with Compass Datacenter were to say yes to an opportunity to protect 14 acres of rare mafic barrens or let those 14 acres become land that won’t necessarily be managed, cared for,or protected in a responsible way. What led Compass to set aside these 14 acres? People. In 2018, when the center’s construction was first proposed, Loudoun residents attended board meetings, wrote emails, and called their county supervisors. Loudoun Supervisors still voted to build the data center, but pressure led to the protection of the site we now oversee. 

In our view, there are sites – especially those that are already degraded or built out – that are appropriate for data center development. There’s just no need to irresponsibly site data centers in environmentally sensitive places, and local governments should have the resources and imperative to direct those projects elsewhere. NVCT’s state-of-the-art conservation mapping tool can help determine what sites are appropriate, and we hope that they can be utilized for that purpose in the future.

Data center companies are doing much to support local economic needs, but the environmental degradation from their sprawling developments has not yet been made a priority. That’s why NVCT is so committed to working with partners in the Our Virginia Outdoors coalition to urge the Virginia General Assembly to pass Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act. This bill would take a small tax on data center square footage each year and create a dedicated, permanent pot of $250 million annually for land and water protection, state park operations and maintenance, and critical urban, agricultural, and historic programs that have been chronically underfunded. Long story short, if data centers are going to swallow up so much of the Commonwealth’s land, they should pay their fair share to ensure that our natural resources are enhanced in other places. Failure to do so will irreparably harm the health and sustainability of our region, and NVCT could use critical dollars from Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act to make a greater difference in the communities we serve. 

We know that people power is what changes the world, and by staying engaged, advocating for responsible development practices, and supporting land conservation efforts, individuals can contribute to a more balanced approach to growth. As data centers continue to define the region’s economic and physical landscape, ensuring that their expansion aligns with environmental sustainability will be one of the defining challenges of our time.

References

Virginia Economic Development Partnership. (n.d.). Dawn of data centers in Virginia. Retrieved from https://www.vedp.org/news/dawn-data  

Burns, K. (2022). Letter opposing western Prince William data centers. Retrieved from https://wtop.com/prince-william-county/2022/01/ken-burns-pens-letter-opposing-

Fuller, H. (2026, February 28). Data centers on sacred ground are triggering a new preservation fight. Military.com. 

Net Zero Insights. (2025, April 29). The environmental cost of data centers. https://netzeroinsights.com/resources/data-centers-environmental-cost/

Virginia Economic Development Partnership. (n.d.). Dawn of data centers in Virginia. https://www.vedp.org/news/dawn-data

BBC News. (2024). Article on data centers and community impacts. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dnnxewdvo