Piedmont Environmental Council

Virginia is undergoing an unprecedented economic, technological, and environmental transformation, all centered around the activities of one industry: data centers. This massive industry is continuing to grow extremely fast, requiring huge amounts of energy, land, and water to operate, resulting in widespread community impacts. Yet, the Commonwealth does not currently have any regulatory oversight of data center development. This explosive growth of data centers threatens to derail state efforts to meet climate goals, improve air and water quality, advance land conservation, and protect national and state parks. Utilities are legally obligated to serve these data centers, no matter how much energy they require or the impact to the transmission grid. Virginia ratepayers are currently subsidizing this buildout for some of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world – which is patently unfair. Now is the time to demand accountability and transparency. Urge your elected officials to support meaningful reform and oversight of the data center industry. Learn more and take action at https://lnkd.in/epTqTxeM #datacenters #ai #artificialintelligence #virginia #loudoun #northernvirginia #environment #climatechange #climatejustice #cloudcomputing

😡 Dominion Energy projects a more than 100 percent increase in electricity usage in the next 15 years, primarily driven by the explosive and uncontrolled growth of *data centers*. On the current track, Virginians could see their electricity bills double over the period laid out in Dominion’s plan. 👨💼 The State Corporation Commission (SCC) will begin consideration of the Dominion plan over the coming months, but has already directed Dominion to supplement its filing with additional information on the impact of data center demand. 💵The tech companies creating this demand should have to pay for the expanded capacity. Other Virginia businesses and citizens should not shoulder that burden. Read more in our press release.

The Virginia Grassland Bird Incentives Program application is officially open! Grassland bird species across North America have suffered steep population declines due to habitat loss by agricultural conversion, succession into forests and development. To combat this decline, VGBI is now offering financial incentives to farmers willing to participate in grassland bird-friendly land management practices during the 2025 haying season. These practices help create surrogate habitat for nesting, foraging and raising young – and can fit into farmers’ production goals. The program is open to 16 counties across the northern Virginia Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Shenandoah Valley, and a minimum 20-acre commitment is required. Since 2022, 46 property owners enrolled over 3,000 acres in our incentives program, so we’re really excited to keep the good work going! With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, VGBI is offering $35/acre in monetary payments to farmers willing to adopt delayed haying (delaying the first cut of hay until July 1 or later) and/or summer pasture stockpiling (rotating livestock out of select fields between April 15 and July 1 or later). The deadline to fill out this upcoming year's interest form closes Friday, Nov. 15. Please visit https://lnkd.in/e3c2Vt4z to learn more 🌾 🐦

Calling all landowners 📢 Join PEC, Rappahannock Carbon and others Oct. 31 in Greene County to learn about forest carbon, conservation easements, and other climate-smart conservation programs and opportunities available to landowners. October 31 @ 11 am - 2 pm | Eugene Giuseppe Center | Free | Lunch Provided RSVP: https://lnkd.in/gA_pDhfu Rappahannock Carbon is a program offered by the Rappahannock River Roundtable to assist landowners in conserving their forests by utilizing carbon market resources and conservation tools. Piedmont Environmental Council will provide information about land conservation opportunities available to landowners. #landconservation #waterconservation #RegenerativeAgriculture #waterquality #conservationeasements #carbonsequestration

🌳🌿 Riparian buffers, the strips of vegetation next to waterways, are critical for improved water quality, climate resiliency and wildlife habitat. Join the Upper & Middle James Riparian Consortium Wednesday, Oct. 23 to learn more at the 6th Annual Buffer Summit & Celebration! Register and see more info at: https://lnkd.in/ep8iGCwA ➡️

Hope Porter and Marie Ridder are icons of conservation in our region. Each celebrating their 100th birthday this year, they have both worked for decades to conserve land and advocate for smart land use policies. Chris Miller, PEC’s president, said it best in our Piedmont View newsletter: “At our annual Farm-to-Table Dinner and Gala on September 21, we honored the lifetime of conservation leadership by two amazing women, Hope Porter and Marie Ridder, who will both turn 100 in the coming months. Hope and Marie were part of the origins of the Piedmont Environmental Council, and they are legends in our office. Hope, for the many, many nights she spent working to complete the next issue of the Fauquier Bugle and long days in front of Safeway passing out information and getting petitions signed. From the storied North Wales development proposal to Disney’s America and countless other battlegrounds before, between, and since, Hope continues to follow all of the activities of Fauquier County government and attend public meetings and stays in regular communication with members of the Board of Supervisors. Marie, in addition to her direct work at PEC and conservation in the Piedmont has had a tremendous impact on the national and statewide environmental stages as vice chair of the Landmarks Commission for the United States Department of the Interior and chair of the Virginia State Parks Commission and Virginia Council on the Environment. She made the environment a priority in her roles on the advisory boards to the National Park Service and American FarmLand Trust, as a trustee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and as an executive committee member of the National Parks Conservation Association… …We need each of you to follow their example and take every opportunity to share the incredible story of conservation in the Piedmont within your usual circle of friends and family and well beyond. Invite them to join the fight to protect the enormous investment we have collectively made in this incredible region. As the world’s data center industry bears down on Virginia, we will need help from all corners.” Read the Chris' full letter about these two incredible women at: https://lnkd.in/e6Gw_E2G

Free, informative webinar alert: Solar power generation and land conservation can go hand in hand when PEC's Ashish Kappor and Solar United Neighbors' Brandon Praileau talk about the benefits of distributed solar this Monday, September 16.

Join our team! PEC is seeking a communications specialist who will help promote conservation efforts, better land use planning and renewable energy in the Virginia Piedmont through digital and print marketing, advocacy and fundraising campaigns, engaging web content creation, and public outreach. If you know anyone who may be interested in applying, please share! https://lnkd.in/evKFshZh

Piedmont Environmental Council fought for 4 years to protect prime farmland in western Loudoun from being lost to cluster subdivisions. A good compromise was reached here that still allows clusters but preserves 70% of the prime soils so Loudoun can continue to host one of the most successful agritourism and small-farm markets in Virginia. Thanks to Gem Bingol and Tia Earman (quoted in the article!) for their leadership on this issue! https://lnkd.in/exzJHDbM

Piedmont Environmental Council is excited to join the U.S. Dept of Energy’s #CleanEnergytoCommunities peer-learning cohort on #agrivoltaics. Over the next six months, we will learn and share strategies for implementation with representatives from 14 communities across the country.