(The Conversation) – The people of northern Virginia have been living with data centers for many years. The area is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers. In a survey we conducted, we found northern Virginians support development restrictions that could make data centers more transparent and accountable to the public. But they care about some types of regulations more than others.
As public concerns about data centers’ electricity demand and effects on the environmental and surrounding communities have grown around the nation, organized opposition to their construction is also on the rise – not only around the country but also at the epicenter of data centers.
In northern Virginia, public protest and legal action led developers to withdraw a proposal for an 2,100-acrecampus for as many as 37 data centers in Prince William County in early July 2026. A week later, county officials cited that opposition when rejecting a proposal that would have rezoned another 2,000-acre area elsewhere in the county to allow more data centers.
Our research explored Virginians’ views on living near and among data centers, identifying what they think about their experiences and how they want to shape future data center development projects that might come to their communities. In the fall of 2025, we surveyed 1,004 residents of northern Virginia and the Richmond metropolitan area – homes of the two largest data center clusters in Virginia.
What we asked
Rather than asking whether they supported or opposed specific policies, we presented survey respondents with pairs of policy combinations that combined different policy measures to regulate data centers and asked them which combinations they preferred. Those measures included locations of the centers, placement of power lines, electricity rates, environmental effects, reporting of energy and water usage and requirements for public review before approval.
For instance, a respondent might choose between two combinations. One combination might include power lines being placed underground and data centers being allowed near homes and parks, but environmental impact assessments not being required. The other combination might include above-ground power lines, restrictions on data centers near homes and parks, and a required environmental impact assessment before approval…