Watch the livestream recording on Instagram HERE.

SILVER SPRING, MD – Ahead of a WAMU town hall meeting on Friday, all three candidates for the office of County Executive in Montgomery County, MD, pledged to protect the county’s critical greenhouse gas reduction goals from the threat of substantial pollution from data centers. In front of dozens of Montgomery County activists wearing t-shirts saying “NO dirty data centers!” and “Yes 100% clean energy!” – each candidate promised that as County Executive, they would support only new data centers that do no climate harm.

A proposed 300-megawatt data center in Dickerson, MD, would generate a million tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of putting 200,000 dirty new cars on the road. The data center developer, Atmosphere Data Centers, Inc, has refused to commit to running the data center on clean power. As a result, all three candidates for the top job in Montgomery County – Maryland’s largest county on the border with D.C. – shared their plans Friday on the matter. 

Councilmember Evan Glass (at-large), who proposed a “pause” on data center permitting at a County hearing earlier in the week, said he would continue to fight for “carbon net zero” data centers in the county. Councilmember Andrew Friedson (District 1) said all new data centers in the county must “bring your own new clean energy.” And Councilmember Will Jawando said he would soon introduce a bill to the County Council creating a two-year moratorium on all data center permitting in the county while also requiring any future data centers to run on 100% clean power. 

“Dirty data centers have got to go,” said Councilmember Evan Glass. “I’ve been fighting on this issue for a very long time…The fight is not stopping. We are going to make sure that whatever happens here in Montgomery County, we get it right…the overarching goal here is to make sure we meet our climate goals here in Montgomery County.” 

“We have the opportunity in Montgomery County, as we have traditionally done in Montgomery County, to do things the right way, said Councilmember Andrew Friedson. “The new technological revolution is coming, and rather than just fighting it, rather than trying to stop it, we can make sure that when it happens, as it happens, that we are shepherding in a new generation of clean energy to transition us to the clean energy future.” 

“We’re not against innovation. We’re not against technology. But we’re for clean energy,” said Councilmember Will Jawando. “One large data center is like emissions from a small city. We don’t need to rush. If [tech companies] want to do this and if we want to have this technological advancement, it has to be 100% renewable. We have to make sure that they are paying their fair share: no tax breaks, no cuts, no incentives. So that’s why I’m going to be introducing a bill calling for a two-year moratorium on data centers in Montgomery County.” 

“Councilmembers Glass, Friedson, and Jawando have made environmental history today,” said Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund. “Montgomery County voters want clean air and a safe climate, and now they’ll have a top leader in the county demanding that high standard of the data center industry. This sets up Montgomery County, Maryland, to be an example for every other county in the nation battling the tidal wave of potentially dirty data centers powered by fossil fuels. Data centers CAN be clean and sustainable when political leaders have the courage and vision to demand it.”

The rally was sponsored by Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund, Montgomery County Sierra Club Group, and Interfaith Power and Light of Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia.

Watch the livestream recording on Instagram HERE.

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund is dedicated to driving change in public policies at the local, state, and national levels to address the climate crisis. Through voter education, lobbying, and participation in the electoral process, we seek to advance our country’s leadership in the global movement toward clean energy solutions — focusing our efforts primarily in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. We know that a vibrant democracy is central to our success so we work to defend democratic integrity wherever we can.