Virginia Executive Order 22 Sets New Requirements for Data Center Development and AI Governance

On Sept. 18, 2026, Virginia Gov. Abigail D. Spanberger signed Executive Order 22 (2026), launching the creation of an AI Task Force and directing select state agencies to urgently commence public, intragovernmental, industry, and federal agency engagement to submit proposals and implementation plans for a number of accountability-based initiatives. More specifically and immediately, the order limits confidentiality protections, provides for the exclusion of larger sites from efficiency programs, and adds new oversight into industrial water consumption. The order may have an immediate impact on regulations in Virginia, with legal and commercial implications for businesses, communities, utilities, technology companies, local governments, and residents.

Key Takeaways

• The executive branch may not enter into confidentiality agreements that prevent the disclosure of material information about proposed commercial data centers, including incentives, resource demands, and community impacts.
• New data centers with peak demand of 25 MW or more are immediately excluded from any expedited permitting program, discretionary economic development, site-readiness, or expedited review program.
• The forthcoming Virginia Local Energy and Accountable Data Centers (VA-LEAD) designation program would model frameworks like LEED and EnergyStar to categorize data center facilities based on environmental and economic impact factors that aim to be standardized scoring systems, with highest-tier facilities prioritized for state incentives.
• Expedited rulemaking would emphasize community and public health expert engagement for noise control.
• State agencies must conduct impact assessments and make recommendations on ways to improve permitting, monitoring, reporting, enforcement, emissions controls, and public disclosure in connection with diesel and other backup-generation and methane emissions within the next six months.
• The order directs reforms to shield residential ratepayers from data-center infrastructure costs, including assigning PJM Reliability Backstop Procurement costs to causative data centers.
• The Rapid-Response AI Task Force must address workforce displacement, privacy, cybersecurity, responsible AI use, and coordination with frontier developers.

Executive Order 22 establishes a coordinated Data Center Accountability Framework led by the Office of the Chief Energy Officer and organized around five pillars: transparent community engagement, environmental protection, energy affordability, clean energy and grid reliability, and workforce value/local procurement.

Within 120 days, the Office of the Chief Energy Officer must publish a community engagement toolkit with model questions, disclosure templates, evaluation guidance for project impacts, community-benefit agreement approaches, and mitigation practices.

The VA-LEAD Designation Program

VA-LEAD may operate as a tiered designation program modeled on familiar building-performance frameworks. Proposed scoring criteria would address energy and infrastructure, water and land use, noise, workforce, clean energy and resilience, local and sustainable materials, and community benefits.

Proposed criteria and an implementation plan are due to the governor by the end of 2027, and the highest VA-LEAD tier would receive priority for state incentives and expedited administrative services.

Ban on Nondisclosure Agreements

Effective immediately, executive-branch agencies may not enter into nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that prevent public disclosure of material information about proposed commercial data centers, including public incentives, resource demands, and potential community impacts. Existing contractual commitments are preserved, and new NDAs may be permitted only in limited extraordinary circumstances, such as national security.

Exclusion from State Site-Readiness Programs

Effective immediately, Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) may not assist new data center projects with an anticipated peak demand of 25 MW or more through the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program, any expedited permitting, or similar discretionary state economic development, site-readiness, or expedited review programs.

Environmental and Noise Protections

• Within 180 days, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) must propose an accelerated timeline, workplan, and stakeholder-engagement plan for data center noise regulations.
• Within 180 days, DEQ must assess backup generation’s capacity, fuel, operating hours, geographic concentration, cumulative emissions, and clean-alternative retrofit options.
• Within 180 days, DEQ must propose broader cooling-water scarcity designation rules; effective immediately, the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area – the Commonwealth east of Interstate 95 – which has been the subject of increasing concern as evidenced by the Virginia Senate Joint Resolution No. 25 issued earlier this year, is immediately designated a cooling water scarcity area.
• Within 240 days, Virginia Energy, in consultation with federal agencies, must recommend responsible network site location options, including brownfields and pre-developed sites of all sizes, to support lower-impact and community-aligned engagement.



Cost Allocation and Affordability

The chief energy officer will work with utilities, the State Corporation Commission, and PJM to shield Virginia households from data-center-driven infrastructure costs, including by assigning certain PJM costs to causative data centers, promoting equitable Interim Resource Adequacy Service (IRAS) cost allocation, and directing data-center investments toward local energy projects that improve affordability, grid reliability, and access for low- and moderate-income communities.

The order also directs work on emergency curtailment procedures for data centers that do not bring their own new capacity under PJM’s IRAS program and evaluation of operational best practices, including ride-through and voltage protections.

Workforce and Local Procurement

Within 180 days, Virginia Works must develop workforce reporting criteria and best practices for quality jobs, local workforce opportunities, and local, sustainable procurement, including mass timber and local wood products.

Rapid-Response AI Task Force

The order also establishes a Rapid-Response AI Task Force, co-led by the chief transformation officer, counsel to the governor, and secretary of administration, and supported by an AI Policy Planning Unit. The task force will evaluate AI-related workforce, privacy, cybersecurity, responsible-use, and governance risks and recommend executive or legislative action.

The task force is charged with the following immediate priorities:

• Addressing AI-driven workforce displacement and evaluating Virginia law for data privacy protections;
• Identifying cybersecurity risks posed by AI agents and bots to government systems and critical infrastructure; and
• Coordinating with other governors, federal and international leaders, and philanthropic organizations on AI governance while supporting secure, responsible AI use across state government.



Rescission of Prior Executive Orders

Executive Order 22 rescinds former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order No. 30 (Jan. 18, 2024), Implementation of Standards for the Safe Use of AI, and Executive Directive No. 5 (Sept. 20, 2023), Recognizing Risks and Seizing Opportunities of AI, which focused more on technological advancements and energy consumption studies rather than regulating digital infrastructure, but policies, standards, and guidelines established under Executive Order No. 30 remain in effect until the task force replaces them.

Executive Order 22 is effective immediately and remains in force unless amended or rescinded. It marks a significant shift in Virginia’s approach to data center growth and AI oversight, and businesses, public officials, community groups, and residents should watch for upcoming guidance and rulemaking and consider participating in engagement opportunities as implementation proceeds.

Key Deadlines and Timing
Effective immediately	NDA limits; ≥25 MW project development benefit exclusions; Eastern Virginia cooling-water designation.
120 days	Community engagement toolkit published.
180 days	Noise, backup-generation, cooling-water, methane, and workforce updates due.
240 days	Responsible network site location recommendations due.
End of 2027	VA-LEAD criteria and implementation plan due.

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