LTE by Ariel Vogel, CCAN Action Fund Volunteer from Richmond, VA, initially published in the Richmond Times Dispatch.

As a Richmond resident, I’m watching the General Assembly’s ongoing budget and tax incentive debates with growing concern. While lawmakers are rightly focused on balancing fiscal priorities, we can’t lose sight of our long-term responsibility: protecting Virginians from pollution and climate change. Data centers, the state’s fastest-growing energy consumers, need to run on clean energy.

Right now, utilities like Dominion Energy continue to propose expensive new fossil fuel projects, such as the Chesterfield gas plant, to help power data centers. These gas plants threaten community health and lock Virginians into decades of dependence on dirty energy.

We can do better. By requiring data centers to run on clean power, we can attract investment, create jobs and protect public health at the same time. Our lawmakers should take this opportunity to lead and require data centers to use clean energy.

LTE by Ariel Vogel, CCAN Action Fund Volunteer from Richmond, VA, initially published in the Richmond Times Dispatch.