Prince George's County launches task force to study data centers' revenue, energy and community impacts

Prince George's County convened an inaugural meeting of its Qualified Data Centers Task Force on a Wednesday beginning at 11:10 a.m., establishing a six‑meeting schedule and charging the panel to study the potential risks, community benefits and revenue potential of hosting data centers in the county.

“This task force will be focusing on the impact of data centers on existing and future energy demands for county rate payers and taxpayers,” Anthony Jones, co‑chair and an administrative law attorney, said at the opening of the meeting. Jones said the task force will meet monthly between May and November, take a break in August, and deliver recommendations to the County Council by Nov. 30, 2025.

The resolution that created the task force, Jones said, defines the panel’s role as an information‑gathering think tank and does not require the group to recommend a particular course of action. Lakeisha Hall, director for Prince George's County (Planning Department), confirmed the department will provide staffing and that meeting materials will be posted online; she said the planning department will aim to distribute materials two weeks before each meeting and produce draft minutes for task force approval.

The panel includes elected officials, county planning staff, labor representatives, developers and industry and utility representatives. County and outside participants raised several issues the task force intends to study, including: electricity availability and rate impacts, water use and reuse, environmental noise and health effects, zoning and permitting pathways, community benefits agreements (CBAs), tax treatment (especially personal property tax and depreciation schedules), workforce and small‑business contracting opportunities, fiber connectivity, and site design that could reuse waste heat or reduce local impacts.

“Beware of low hanging fruit,” Stacy Hartwell of the South County Environmental Justice Coalition warned, urging careful study of social and environmental risks alongside revenue possibilities. Ayesha Braveboy, identified in the meeting as the Prince George’s County state's attorney, said she planned to remain involved as time allows: “I will stay as long as I can,” she told the task force.

Members sought technical briefings from specific agencies and experts. Multiple speakers asked the chair to invite PJM Interconnection to explain how and under what conditions grid operators would permit a data center to come online, and to provide analysis of whether local power capacity could support new large users. WSSC Water was named as the county water utility to consult on water‑use and reclaimed‑water options. Task force members requested presentations on renewable‑energy options for data centers and the limits of intermittent resources.

Union representatives and construction trade leaders framed workforce and wage questions as central. Don Slaiman of IBEW Local 26 said data center work has produced high‑paying construction and maintenance jobs in other markets and cited local industry growth: “Our membership has doubled in the last seven years because of the data center industry,” he said. Labor leaders also urged the task force to examine subcontracting and wage‑theft risks and to consider how project requirements or CBAs could secure local hiring and prevailing wages.

Speakers recommended learning from other jurisdictions. Several members proposed site visits and invited the task force to hear decision‑makers from Loudoun County and Frederick County, both of which have experience with data center permitting and local impacts. The task force plans community meetings across the county in July—three sessions, one each for northern, central and southern Prince George’s County—with a September meeting to recap resident feedback.

Planning staff outlined the tentative meeting topics: June — economic development, revenue and community benefits; July — environmental impacts (including noise, water and energy) alongside community meetings; September — recap of community input; October — land use, site design and development standards; November — review of a draft report for the County Council. The task force discussed scheduling one additional meeting if members want more subject matter briefings.

Several presenters urged the panel to include specific technical topics in its homework: the tax treatment of data‑center equipment (personal property taxes and depreciation schedules), the amount of water required for different cooling systems and potential for on‑site recycling, fiber‑connectivity constraints, and whether advanced technologies (for example, quantum computing) change the long‑term outlook for mid‑Atlantic data‑center demand.

Jones and staff said meetings will comply with the Maryland Open Meetings Act, will be open to the public, will require in‑person attendance from task force members to meet quorum rules, and will be video recorded and posted on the task force website. The next meeting is scheduled for June 11 and will focus on economic development, revenue and community benefits; planning staff will circulate materials for review in advance.

Participants emphasized the task force’s fact‑finding role rather than a preordained outcome. “We will keep an open mind and consider all perspectives,” Jones said as he closed the session.