Virginia senator proposes three-year statewide data center moratorium

A Virginia state senator has proposed a three-year statewide pause on data centers, which would give lawmakers time to draw up further legislation.

Why it matters: Virginia hosts the world's densest data center cluster, so a pause there would hit AI capacity far more than a moratorium elsewhere. It follows Oregon's de facto permit pause, suggesting a pattern of states pushing back on power and land use from AI buildout.