Data centers positively impact the Virginia community and infrastructure in the following ways:  

• Economic: In addition to the thousands of jobs created, data centers were directly and indirectly responsible for generating $174 million in state revenue in 2021.

• Tax implications: In 2021, data centers were directly and indirectly responsible for generating an estimated $1 billion in tax revenue in Virginia. Without these contributions, tax rates on individual homeowners would be significantly higher.

Data center providers contribute to the development of the state’s economy and are supporters of the education system in Northern Virginia. The absence of data centers would result in the loss of thousands of jobs across Northern Virginia and a $1 billion-dollar annual loss of tax revenue for the Commonwealth.  

For more detail on how data centers impact the state and local economies of Virginia, please click here.

You benefit from data centers every time you use your cell phone, go online, or shop by credit card, even in a brick-and-mortar retail environment. The “cloud” lives in data centers. Digital health records, online banking, multi-player video games, social media, online shopping and entertainment streaming services ALL run through data centers. 

Although many people may have heard of a data center, few have seen one up close. Below are a few of the biggest misconceptions around data centers:  

Misconception 1: “Data centers are energy guzzlers and are bad for the environment.” 

• By nature, data centers consume large amounts of energy. Yet over the years, the industry has become incredibly efficient in its use of energy and is one of the leaders driving clean and renewable energy. By centralizing and aggregating computing resources under one roof, data centers leverage innovations in design, equipment, and technology to maximize energy efficiency. A 2020 research report in the journal Science found that while data centers’ computing output jumped sixfold from 2010 to 2018, data center energy consumption rose only six percent. 

Misconception 2: “The cloud will kill data centers.”  

• This is not true. The cloud lives in data centers. The explosion in cloud computing and connected devices in recent years has been accompanied by exponential growth in demand for more data centers. 

Misconception 3: “Data centers are large, loud buildings that don’t require people inside them.”  

• While data centers are typically large in size, the noise level from outside the building is relatively minimal and must meet local ordinances. Additionally, data center expansions create a “job gravity” effect. Data center construction employs hundreds of local workers with good-paying jobs over many months. Completed data centers also provide high-paying operational jobs and draw in more jobs from customers and vendors. 

Some data centers are intentionally placed in densely populated metropolitan areas. The more densely populated an area is, the greater the need is and the more likely it is to have existing infrastructure (i.e., high amounts of fiber cables) to support the population with connection. Typically, data centers are not built in residential neighborhoods since populations are generally spread out sparsely and the infrastructure to be effective is not there.  

The technology housed and utilized in data centers does not pose a threat to community health. The technology utilized by data centers is categorized as the non-ionizing part of electric magnetic fields, or EMGs, and there is no evidence that this type of technology could cause cancer or other health related issues.

Data centers are not particularly loud when outside of the building. Data center providers work diligently to ensure that buildings are operating within all applicable regulations and local ordinances.

While a typical data center can use a considerable amount of water for cooling, data centers are adopting methods to help build a more sustainable approach to their water usage. These methods include:

• Water-efficient cooling solutions 

• Water infrastructure upgrades (including metering and reporting) 

• Shared cooling systems (e.g., river water cooling loops) 

• Measures to promote water efficiency and reductions in the use of chemical treatment of water use

• Rainwater capture systems

• Where water is consumed, many operators take advantage of non-potable water