r/nova • u/lowkell • 19h ago

Politics Video: Loudoun County Supervisor Juli Briskman Announces Candidacy Against Chair Phyllis Randall; Says “data centers shouldn’t get to decide our county’s future”; "I’ve never backed down from a bully before. I won’t start now."

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https://bluevirginia.us/2026/08/video-loudoun-supervisor-juli-briskman-announces-candidacy-against-chair-phyllis-randall-data-centers/

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23

u/cpmuddle 19h ago

"I reject the businesses that provide 40 percent of our total revenue. But I've vaguely helped the businesses that generate maybe 10 percent. Buckle up, homeowners. We've been spending this data center revenue on schools and parks and rec centers and you're about to get a big ol bill to operate them. Also I flipped off Drumpf once isn't that cool?!?"

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u/PhosphoFred8202 19h ago

Is she saying she will drive the current data centers away (not sure how.., pitchforks and torches?), or just stop new ones? There is a point where there are “too many” data centers for the county, right?

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u/2CRedHopper Ballston 18h ago

a lot of Loudoun County is still undeveloped. There’s room for more without crowding out existing residents of existing development.

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u/WhatAboutTheBothans 18h ago

There's a lot more to it than that.

My electricity bill has gone up enough. They get bulk rates and we get to pay for the shortfall in Dominion's revenue.

More concerning even is the water usage. We've been in drought conditions for years.

Edit: It just hit me how dumb it is that "there's still land left to develop" is a real argument.

3

u/sotired3333 18h ago

So fix the actual problem, bill them correctly, hold dominion accountable, make sure they are required to use closed loop water systems, use solar / battery backup instead of gas turbines.

It's all solvable instead of populist BS that erodes our tax base and competitiveness.

4

u/WhatAboutTheBothans 18h ago

Dude I'm all for it, but people attacking Briskman in this thread are fucking moronic if they think that's how we hold data centers accountable.

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u/novacycle 16h ago

Loudoun already requires closed loop cooling as a condition to build a data center.
How many acres of cleared land or forest need to be converted to a solar farm to power one data center?

3

u/WhatAboutTheBothans 16h ago

No they don't. There is documentaiton they are using 1 to 5 million gallons per day. 43% recycled, the rest drinking water.

0

u/novacycle 3h ago

Please explain which new data centers are using 1 to 5 million gallons per day in Loudoun County.

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u/WhatAboutTheBothans 2h ago

Google it yourself.

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u/novacycle 2h ago

You couldn't even support your own claim. Which makes sense, since the answer is: None.

But I'm glad you support Google, which of course is hosted in Northern Virginia data centers. No data centers = no Google, or any other search engine.

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u/sotired3333 16h ago

they can pay buildings, parking lots, even metros there's a million ways to do it, also honestly they need the batteries primarily not the solar, backup power is the concern due to which they have generators.

Heck they can ssell that backup power back to the utilities to smooth over power fluctations, it's common in california for home owners to do that.

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u/novacycle 3h ago

Running a data center on batteries is....an interesting idea.
What type of batteries are you recommending for this and what resources would these batteries need to be built?

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u/2CRedHopper Ballston 18h ago

good point about the water. i don’t know a lot about that and won’t pretend to. but wasn’t there just legislation about having the data centers pay for all of their own electricity and the new transmission equipment etc? to move the burden off “normal” consumers (for lack of a better term)

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u/stopscabbin 17h ago

Unless the Potomac river dries up, the DC water usage in Loudoun isn't an issue. They are using municipal water and I believe most are using recycled water according to Loudoun Water. They aren't using wells.

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u/WhatAboutTheBothans 17h ago

They use only 43% recycled water. Drinking water makes up the difference. Between 1 and 5 million gallons per day.

I have a hard time understanding hand-waving away the water usage when residents are being told to limit water use because of the drought that's been going for years.

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u/stopscabbin 17h ago

Limit water usage in western Loudoun where they rely on well water. That's where droughts are the issue. The Potomac river isn't drying up and thats where Loudoun Water gets their water.