New Report Sounds Alarm on Data Center Impacts to National Parks Across Mid-Atlantic, Calls for Common Sense Reforms 

WASHINGTON– Today, the National Parks Conservation Association released a report, sounding the alarm on the impact of extensive data center growth to national parks across Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. The report, A Smarter Path Forward: Safeguarding National Parks Amid Explosive AI and Data Center Growth, warns the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure across the Mid-Atlantic is driving extraordinary demand for land, water, and energy use, among other concerns. These cumulative impacts on top of the enormous physical footprints data centers have now and are projected to have in years to come, put the more than 70 national parks across the region in jeopardy.

Virginia has become the data center capital of the world with more data centers here than anywhere else on the Planet. Across the state, data center growth has spiked more than 500% since 2015.

“The rapid and unchecked pursuit of new technologies must not come at the expense of our national parks, which were set aside for the intrinsic values they hold for all Americans,” said Kyle Hart, Senior Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Our national parks are places where we connect with our history, with nature, and with each other. We’ve seen what can happen when this industry grows unchecked, and we cannot allow it to continue.”

Key report findings include:

• The scale and speed of data center development is unprecedented.
• Industry led efforts to mitigate impact to communities falls short; and
  
• National parks are directly and significantly impacted with facilities planned within the border of Prince William Forest Park, expanded transmission lines cutting through the Appalachian Trail and Harpers Ferry and massive construction proposed for lands alongside Manassas National Battlefield Park.

Each data center requires extraordinary amounts of land, water, and energy to operate. These industrial complexes consume enormous amounts of electricity to support power needs from distant generation facilities. They cause noise, air and water pollution, inflicting irreversible damage to historic sites and green spaces in and around our national parks. The true footprint of data center growth includes a sprawling network of power plants, transmission lines, energy infrastructure, and pulls enormous amounts of water from local resources to keep them running.

“Explosive water demands from data centers already pull an estimated eight percent of all water withdrawals from the Potomac River,” said Ben Alexandro, Founder and CEO of Alexandro Strategies and report author. “If the rate of expansion continues at this pace, as much as 200 million gallons of water could be pulled from the Potomac River daily, over the next few decades.”

Across the Mid-Atlantic, significant impacts from operational data center facilities are already seen and felt and include degraded air quality from diesel backup generators, which at some facilities number in the hundreds, and explosive water and energy demands that continue to grow. This development ruins recreational opportunities and fragments landscapes, impacting wildlife corridors for bobcats and Wood Thrushes.

"In the next few decades, the region could see 60 gigawatts, if not much more, of data center capacity. To put that into perspective, 60 Gigawatts is well over triple the peak energy use of the entire state of Maryland,” added Alexandro.

Our Most Vulnerable Parks

• Manassas National Battlefield Park - proposed Prince William Digital Gateway would span more than 2,100 acres with 10 acres located within the congressionally authorized park boundary.

• Prince William Forest Park - proposed Potomac Technology Park would take roughly 52 acres within the boundary of the park, turning it into one million square feet of data center development

• Wilderness Battlefield – proposed data center development and associated large industrial-scale facilities

• Shenandoah National Park – proposed high-voltage transmission lines would cross the park multiple times with towers up to 200 feet tall

• Appalachian Trail – massive transmission lines crisscrossing park

• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park – massive transmission lines crisscrossing park

• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park – massive transmission lines crisscrossing park

Parks are economic generators for the region. In 2024, nearly 28 million visitors explored Virginia and Maryland national parks and spent almost $3 billion locally.

“All of this comes at the expense of our national parks, the millions of people that visit them, and the communities that surround them,” added NPCA’s Kyle Hart. “If development trends here continue in this direction the data center industry could convert up to 100,000 acres of open green space into industrial complexes here. The opportunity for getting ahead of this boom continues to narrow and we must act now,“ said Hart.

Recommendations and Solutions

Data center development is already hitting national parks across the Mid-Atlantic hard and these impacts will continue to grow without stronger safeguards. NPCA is calling for common sense reforms that include conducting environmental reviews and strengthened protections for our federal lands and waters. To do so will require improved transparency and accountability among our elected officials and industry leaders alike. And policies at all levels of government must address responsible growth, long-term planning and enforce transparent processes that include robust public engagement.

To review or to download our full report, please click here.

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org. 

Founded by veteran environmental strategist Ben Alexandro, Alexandro Strategies provides research, policy analysis, and strategic planning services to mission-driven organizations. The firm specializes in translating complex technical data into accessible insights and building the partnerships necessary to address large-scale conservation and climate challenges. With more than 15 years of experience leading regional coalitions and navigating complex landscape-scale initiatives, Ben Alexandro established the firm to help clients protect natural resources and strengthen communities. For more information, visit www.alexandrostrategies.com.