Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
1–10 of 23 posts
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#2Now this is the pragmatic solution. Very clever
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#3The sooner cities and states start negotiating adversarially with companies that want to set up infrastructure in their state, the sooner we'll all be happier with the way things work.
If you want to be a part of my community, you need to obviously be giving at least as much as you take. And none of this can be theoretical in terms of what you're offering. Theoretical == non-existent.
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#4Yes! Yes! Make a lot of data centers but make them build out new power renewable generation to power them.
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#5So now every data center will have run their own wires? The city will be covered in transmission towers, wires, substations. To place new transmission wires, they’ll have to cut down some forest or demolish something.
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#6So now every data center will have run their own wires? The city will be covered in transmission towers, wires, substations. To place new transmission wires, they’ll have to cut down some forest or demolish something.
Oh no! Whatever will we do without AI! It'll be like the dark ages of six months ago all over again. Or maybe it'll be like the reaaaallly dark ages twelve whole months ago, back when humans hadn't yet been overtaken by AGI
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#7So now every data center will have run their own wires? The city will be covered in transmission towers, wires, substations. To place new transmission wires, they’ll have to cut down some forest or demolish something.
Probably pay the power company to put in the required infrastructure upgrades I guess.
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#8The sooner cities and states start negotiating adversarially with companies that want to set up infrastructure in their state, the sooner we'll all be happier with the way things work. If you want to be a part of my community, you need to obviously be giving at least as much as you take. And none of this can be theoretical in terms of what you're offering. Theoretical == non-existent.
They already do that. It's just that things like large data centers... actually pay a lot of property taxes. A huge amount compared to their land use. While not really consuming a lot of government services.
A building that just needs you to run a transmission line to it once and then sits there unassumingly while paying a disproportionate amount of property tax is the sort of thing municipalities generally offer significant incentives to get to move in. Incentives meaning they pay millions of dollars in taxes instead of tens of millions, but then the municipality gets millions of dollars in tax revenue instead of nothing when another location offers a better deal.
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#9The sooner cities and states start negotiating adversarially with companies that want to set up infrastructure in their state, the sooner we'll all be happier with the way things work. If you want to be a part of my community, you need to obviously be giving at least as much as you take. And none of this can be theoretical in terms of what you're offering. Theoretical == non-existent.
They already do that. It's just that things like large data centers... actually pay a lot of property taxes. A huge amount compared to their land use. While not really consuming a lot of government services. A building that just needs you to run a transmission line to it once and then sits there unassumingly while paying a disproportionate amount of property tax is the sort of thing municipalities generally offer sig…
You're already describing a race to the bottom there IMHO.
Cities or even countries underbid each other to get the golden goose, and then realise they've already bargained away any share of the eggs, and it turns out the goose still shits everywhere.
Re: Virginia orders data centers to pay for dedicated new electric infrastructure
#10Virginia also has a tax on electricity, targetting data centers.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2026/07/13/power...
I'm not sure what the status is, getting hard to find out amid so much noise & public coverage that's just blathering heads mostly, but, for the longest time & in many places, data centers were getting charged at industrial rates for power, which is intentionally kept super low to encourage industry. The thought that they are paying vastly less as everyone else's prices goes up is a bitter detestable situation. I am nowhere near as anti-data center as most, I want these things actually, but it feels like it's such a strong example of elite revolt, of people being totally paved over by the rich and powerful, who have so effectively managed to buy out the system of governance in so many ways.