Virginia state senator L. Louise Lucas, a top Democratic leader in the state, is levying a novel critique at companies building data centers in the state—that they're paying construction workers too much money.
Lucas, the president pro tempore of the Virginia State Senate and a frequent critic of data centers, debuted the argument on Wednesday during the first of several highly anticipated Virginia legislative hearings called to study data centers, their environmental and social impacts, and their tax exemptions.
"I was just wondering, are there any concerns to employment in other construction fields, especially if we're trying to build residential housing?" said Lucas, the vice chair of the bicameral panel convened to study the issue.
"That's because the data centers seem to be swallowing up all of the labor force by paying $100,000 to $250,000 a year to get these data centers built," she continued. "So, where are the employees to help with our residential construction sites and things like that?"
After none of the witnesses and experts in attendance addressed Lucas's comments, the panel's chairman, Virginia delegate Luke Torian (D.), said he would "find someone" to answer her questions.
Lucas's office did not respond to a request for comment.
It's the latest critique that opponents of data centers are deploying to slow their development nationwide. And it's a particularly puzzling one for Lucas, who claims to fight for higher wages and job growth. In recent months, she sponsored a bill raising the state's minimum wage to $15. She also created a $97.7 million fund to attract high-tech rocket manufacturers to the state, something she wrote would attract at least 1,546 new jobs.
Data centers are a hot-button issue in Virginia, home to Loudoun County, which has been dubbed "Data Center Alley" due to its high number of centers. The industry has created tens of thousands of jobs, $5.5 billion in labor income, and $9.1 billion in gross domestic product in the state, according to a state study conducted in 2023. Local governments have cut property tax rates by as much as 40 percent over the last decade due to tax revenue from data centers.
Large labor unions like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters have opposed data center moratoriums, saying they "threaten to block billions of dollars in potential investment and will eliminate critical job opportunities," the IBEW said this week.
Data center opponents like Lucas have sought to slow the industry's growth in Virginia, arguing that they will dry up local water sources and raise energy costs, arguments that recent studies have contradicted.
"It's time to get our heads out of the sand," Lucas said in July. "Data centers are growing. Their profits are growing. And the burden on Virginia families is growing right along with them. That's not a fair deal. That's freeloading. We made progress this year. But I won't stop fighting until data centers pay their fair share."
She made a similar comment during Wednesday's hearing, saying, "I don't intend to back down on this issue."
The data center hearings in Virginia will ultimately inform how the state implements the first-of-its-kind consumption tax charging data centers for the energy they use. The tax, which was included in the biennial budget package that Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger (D.) signed in June, is projected to cost data center operators roughly $600 million per year.
