Governor Abigail Spanberger announced a data center accountability framework on Friday that tightens permitting, commercial, and environmental controls for the state's server warehouses. The executive action prohibits the use of non-disclosure agreements for large projects and imposes clean energy mandates on developers and operators. Spanberger described the framework as the most aggressive in the country, designed to hold companies accountable and deliver a better deal for Virginians.

The rules target the world's largest concentration of data centers following growing political backlash against the facilities and their underlying technology. Virginia's plan introduces new guidelines for commercial and environmental oversight to address public concerns about the industrial and ecological footprint of large scale server projects.