Oversight and regulation of data center development in Virginia is best left in the hands of local governments, McGuireWoods Tysons partner Greg Riegle told Law360 in a May 1, 2024, story.
Virginia lawmakers introduced 17 bills this year to regulate the rapid growth of data center development in the state, but none survived the 2024 General Assembly session, Law360 reported.
Riegle, a member of McGuireWoods’ Real Estate & Land Use Department who works with data center companies, told Law360 that he doesn’t think this year’s session will mark the end of efforts to impose statewide regulations on the industry.
“My own view is that the communities where these data center decisions are being made could not be more diverse in their composition, their geography, the issues, etc.,” Riegle said. “What’s an issue in Northern Virginia may well not be an issue in Tidewater, or in central Virginia, or in southwest Virginia.”