Virginia governor issues executive order banning NDAs and tightening datacenter permitting

The governor’s executive order replaces the previous lack of a coordinated datacenter policy with a formal framework that bans nondisclosure agreements, restricts permitting for large facilities, and imposes stricter environmental standards. It also requires transparency reports on environmental impacts and sets new criteria to differentiate responsible from harmful datacenter projects. These changes directly alter the regulatory landscape for operators planning new builds or expansions in Virginia.

Compliance will increase administrative overhead as firms must disclose cooling-system details and power-source plans to obtain permits. Retrofitting existing generators or switching to battery or fuel-cell backup will require capital investment beyond current budgets. The added reporting and design constraints are likely to raise project costs and extend timelines for approval.

Projects exceeding 25 megawatts can no longer rely on expedited permitting and must secure local government approval. Water-intensive cooling towers are limited in regions facing scarcity, forcing operators to adopt alternative cooling methods. The order effectively halts the fastest-track pathway that previously allowed rapid datacenter deployment in the state.

The move aligns Virginia with recent actions in New York and Pennsylvania that have also paused or conditioned datacenter growth. Engineers designing cloud infrastructure will need to factor in longer lead times and stricter environmental compliance when planning capacity. The regulatory shift may influence where hyperscale providers locate future facilities, affecting regional data-center supply chains.