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Senate committee advances bill to require local review of large data centers; related proposals split
Summary
The Senate Committee on Local Government advanced a bill directing localities to require studies and disclosures for high-energy-use facilities while several companion measures—defining data centers as industrial uses and imposing noise and other requirements—failed or were amended after debate.
Senate Committee on Local Government — Richmond, Jan. 13, 2025 — The committee voted to report a bill from Senator Mark Evans that asks localities to require developers of high-energy-use facilities to submit studies and information about potential local impacts before siting decisions. The bill defines those projects by electrical demand and aims to standardize review of projects whose energy and water use can affect neighboring communities.
The bill, Senate Bill 1449, would direct local governments to collect studies addressing impacts on sound, water, and other nearby resources before approving projects that use large amounts of electricity. “It directs localities to require that project developers conduct and submit a sound study before a high energy use facility,” Senator Evans said,…
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