Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger issued Executive Order 22, establishing an AI task force and imposing new regulations on data center development, including banning NDAs for officials involved in data center projects, expediting noise rules, and reviewing backup generation operations. The order aims to give local communities more influence over data center approvals in a state already considered the data center capital of the world.
Background
Virginia has become a major hub for data center construction, particularly in Northern Virginia, driven by growing AI and cloud computing demand. This represents one of the first state-level moves to balance rapid infrastructure expansion with community concerns and AI governance.
- Source
- The Verge
- Published
- Sep 19, 2026 at 02:29 AM
- Score
- 6.0 / 10