FACT CHECK: Who’s to Blame for the Proliferation of Data Centers

It’s no secret that data centers are a hot topic in Virginia these days. Who to blame for the rapid expansion is still up in the air, unless you ask Del. Geary Higgins (HD-30). 

The Higgins campaign has set out to shift the blame from their candidate to their opponent, John McAuliff. According to Higgins, the Democrats on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors are to blame for our current state of data centers in Virginia, and McAuilff would only facilitate their rapid expansion if elected to the General Assembly. What Higgins doesn’t want you to know is that he has played a central role in the spread of data centers across Northern Virginia. While he served on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, he voted to streamline the data center development process, which increased the number of data centers in “Data Center Alley” from 50 to nearly 200.  

Polling shows that communities do not want data centers, and that voters are more likely to oppose the building of data centers if tax incentives are given to the companies building them. 46% of voters strongly oppose the building of data centers in their communities, and the average American’s energy bill could increase from 25% to 70% in the next 10 years without intervention from policymakers. According to a 2024 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report, increased energy demand for data centers could drive Virginians' energy bills up by nearly $40 a month. The same report revealed that in fiscal year 2023, the data center industry saw a total of $928 million in tax breaks because of certain exemptions in the Virginia tax code. These centers are not only threatening to the health of communities, but they are wreaking havoc on people's wallets. Voters want to see accountability from the industry, not a candidate who will pander to both sides. 

From 1987 to 2021, just before being elected to the Virginia General Assembly, Higgins was the Vice President of Labor Relations for the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). As Vice President, he stood to financially benefit from the expansion of data centers, even in the backyards of people's homes and schools. In fact, the NECA represents a $130 billion industry from which Higgins brought in at least 4.5 million dollars from the years 2004-2020, serving as Vice President. 

Not only that, but Higgins’ campaign has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from data center interests, most notably the Data Center Coalition, and John Colson, founder and Executive Chairman of Quanta Services, Inc., which acquired Cupertino Electric Inc., known for “its electrical system installations at data centers.” In 2024, Higgins received $1,500 from the Data Center Coalition and $65,000 from John Colson from 2019 to 2024.

In his time as a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly, Higgins has opposed multiple attempts to rein in data center development. Despite campaign materials that promise Higgins would oppose data centers in the “wrong places,” his voting record as a delegate has shown the opposite. Measures Delegate Higgins has voted against include legislation to require centers to disclose noise and environmental impacts before receiving final approval, to ensure developers conduct noise impact studies for homes or schools within 500 feet of centers, and to require data centers be approved only for areas that are one-quarter mile or more from federal, state, or local parks, schools, and property zoned or used for residential use. 

Data centers are a pressure point across Virginia, but especially in Loudoun and Fauquier Counties, and voters deserve to know exactly where their candidates stand. With November’s election around the corner, it should be clear to voters that Geary Higgins will do anything to keep his seat, even if it means lying about his own record. Loudoun and Fauquier Counties deserve a strong representative who will protect homes, schools, and businesses from parasitic data centers.