Local Environmental Impacts of Data Center Proliferation

April 2025
Citation:
55
ELR 10131
Issue
2
Author
Reid Lifset, Pranava Raparla, Amy Stein, Lauren Bridges, Jim McElfish, and Tim Cywinski

Demand for data centers is increasing worldwide, raising questions about the electric grid, the transition to renewable energy, and distribution infrastructure. Northern Virginia is home to data centers that process nearly 70% of global digital traffic, leading officials to call for construction, at ratepayers’ expense, of new power plants and new transmission lines across four states, as well as the continued operation of coal-powered plants that had been scheduled to go offline. On December 6, 2024, the Environmental Law Institute and the Network for Digital Economy and the Environment co-hosted a panel of experts who examined the environmental impacts and policy implications of data center growth and the consequences for residents of Virginia and nearby states. Here, we present a transcript of that discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.

Reid Lifset (moderator) is a Research Scholar at the Yale School of the Environment. Pranava Raparla was a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy. Amy Stein is the Cone Wagner Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Lauren Bridges is an Assistant Professor in Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Jim McElfish is a Senior Advisor at the Environmental Law Institute. Tim Cywinski is Communications Director at the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club.