Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger warns state heading toward “energy crisis” – CBS News

Report on Virginia’s Energy Policy in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

Virginia faces a significant energy challenge driven by the rapid expansion of its data center industry, the world’s largest concentration. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has proposed a new policy framework to address the rising energy costs for consumers and ensure the sustainability of this economic growth. This report analyzes the situation and the proposed policies through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

The Challenge: Balancing Industrial Growth and Sustainable Infrastructure

The proliferation of data centers, essential infrastructure for the digital economy and artificial intelligence, presents a dual challenge for Virginia. While contributing significantly to economic growth (SDG 8), with over $1 billion in tax revenue in 2024, their massive energy consumption strains the state’s power grid and impacts community welfare.

• Energy Demand and Infrastructure Strain: The immense power requirements of data centers challenge the goal of resilient infrastructure as outlined in SDG 9. Without strategic management, this demand can lead to energy instability and necessitates costly upgrades to generation and transmission capabilities.
• Impact on Communities: Rising energy costs, with consumer power bills increasing nearly 7% in the last year, threaten the sustainability of communities (SDG 11). This price escalation places a disproportionate burden on residents, undermining efforts to create inclusive and resilient local environments.

Proposed Policy Framework: Aligning with SDG 7 and SDG 12

Governor-elect Spanberger’s energy affordability plan aims to mitigate these challenges by promoting accountability and increasing local energy capacity. The framework is strongly aligned with the principles of responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) and ensuring access to affordable and reliable energy (SDG 7).

Core Tenets of the Energy Affordability Plan

1. Fair Share Contribution: Require large-scale energy users, specifically data centers, to pay their equitable share for the electricity generation and transmission infrastructure built to serve them. This measure promotes corporate responsibility in line with SDG 12.
2. Increase Local Energy Generation: Boost in-state energy production to meet rising demand. This provides an opportunity to invest in cleaner and renewable energy sources, directly supporting Target 7.2 of SDG 7, which calls for a substantial increase in the share of renewable energy.
3. Enhance Energy Efficiency: Implement measures for more efficient energy storage and address interstate regulatory issues to optimize the energy system. This aligns with Target 7.3 of SDG 7, which aims to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
4. Promote Social Equity: Make existing energy subsidy programs more accessible for low-income residents. This policy directly addresses SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by ensuring that the costs of industrial growth do not disproportionately harm vulnerable populations and that the benefits of energy access are shared more equitably.

Conclusion: A Path Towards Sustainable Development

Virginia’s approach to managing its data center boom serves as a critical case study in sustainable development. The proposed policies reflect a clear-eyed strategy to balance economic benefits with environmental and social responsibilities. By holding high-consumption industries accountable and prioritizing affordable energy for all residents, the plan seeks to create a more sustainable and equitable energy future for the state, in direct alignment with the core objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
   • The article is centered on the theme of an “energy crisis” in Virginia, focusing on the need for “affordable energy.” It discusses rising energy costs for consumers, the massive energy consumption by data centers, and proposals to increase energy production and efficiency. These are all core components of SDG 7.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
   • The article highlights the role of data centers, which are a key part of modern “technical infrastructure.” The discussion revolves around managing the impact of this industry and the need to build new “electricity generation and transmission capabilities” to support it, directly linking to the infrastructure and industry aspects of SDG 9.
3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
   • The proposed policies aim to address the unequal burden of rising energy costs. The plan to make data centers pay “their fair share” so they “don’t drive up energy costs for everyone else” and the goal of making “energy subsidy programs more accessible for low-income residents” are direct efforts to reduce economic inequalities.
4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • The issue is framed as a community challenge, with the article noting that the problem is “pervasive in our communities, and particularly acute in southwest Virginia.” The need for a statewide plan to manage the impact of a major industry on local residents and their cost of living relates to creating sustainable and resilient communities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
   • Target 7.1: By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. The article’s central theme of an “energy affordability plan” and the concern over power bills increasing “by nearly 7% over the last year” directly address the affordability component of this target.
   • Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. The proposal for “storing energy more efficiently” and addressing the massive, inefficient energy use by data centers aligns with this target.
   • Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology… and promote investment in energy infrastructure… The plan’s stipulation that data centers should pay for the “electricity generation and transmission capabilities that must be built to power them” points to investment in new energy infrastructure.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
   • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all. The need to build new energy infrastructure to support the data center industry while ensuring energy remains affordable for the public is a direct reflection of this target.
   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency… The policy proposal to hold data centers accountable for their massive energy consumption is an effort to make this industry more sustainable in its resource (energy) use.
3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
   • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all… irrespective of… economic or other status. The specific proposal to make “existing energy subsidy programs more accessible for low-income residents” is a direct action to support a vulnerable economic group and promote their inclusion.
   • Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome… by promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action… The policy requiring data centers to pay “their fair share” is an action designed to reduce the inequality of outcome where the general public bears the cost of industrial energy consumption.
4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • Target 11.a: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning. The article mentions the energy challenge is “particularly acute in southwest Virginia,” and Spanberger’s “energy affordability plan” represents a form of regional development planning to manage the social and economic impacts of industrial growth.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Explicit Indicator:
   • Percentage increase in consumer power bills: The article explicitly states that “Power bills in Virginia, for example, have increased by nearly 7% over the last year.” This serves as a direct indicator of energy affordability (or lack thereof) and can be used to measure progress towards Target 7.1.
2. Implied Indicators:
   • Share of energy costs paid by large-scale users: The proposal that data centers must pay “their fair share” implies the creation of a metric to measure the proportion of infrastructure and generation costs covered by these industrial users versus residential consumers. This would measure progress toward Target 10.3.
   • Accessibility and uptake of energy subsidies: The plan to make “energy subsidy programs more accessible for low-income residents” implies that progress can be measured by tracking the number or percentage of eligible low-income households that successfully access these programs. This relates to Target 10.2.
   • Investment in new energy infrastructure: The need to build new “electricity generation and transmission capabilities” implies that a key indicator of progress would be the amount of new capacity (in megawatts, for example) that is developed and funded, as per Target 7.a.
   • Increase in local energy generation: The proposal to “increase local energy generation” suggests an indicator based on the amount of energy produced within Virginia, which could be tracked to measure progress toward energy independence and infrastructure development (Target 7.a and 9.1).

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: cbsnews.com