Virginia congressman warns 'too many' data centers are stressing Loudoun County grid and communities

Congressman Suhasupramaniam said his Virginia district has been "building too many data centers," and that the industry's growth has come at residents' expense. He said communities are experiencing higher utility bills, new power lines routed through homes and schools, water and environmental impacts, and strain on the regional power grid in Loudoun County.

"We have been building too many data centers, in my community," Suhasupramaniam said. He argued the industry has often operated on a "predatory, short term, profit motive" instead of planning "what's best for the residents," and proposed a national strategy that would prioritize community interests, local buy-in, and environmental safeguards.

Suhasupramaniam warned that concentrating facilities—"It doesn't make sense to put 200 data centers in 1 county, for instance"—creates operational and security risks and will provoke local opposition if companies do not collaborate with residents. He said that unless the data-center industry listens and works with communities, "they will have trouble building data centers." The congressman framed the issue as one of local costs versus national competitiveness.

The transcript records these statements as the congressman's characterization of the situation; counts such as "200 data centers in 1 county" were presented as examples in the interview and are not independently verified in the transcript.