Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Presenting the 2025 Virginia C-Suite Awards

Great doesn’t just drive results — it shapes culture, builds trust and inspires lasting change. Across the commonwealth, exceptional executives are guiding organizations through complexity with vision, resilience and a deep commitment to the people they serve.

With that spirit in mind, Virginia Business is proud to present our inaugural , honoring 33 top executives who exemplify integrity, innovation and impact. Representing a broad spectrum of industries — from health care and to local , and major public and — these leaders are shaping Virginia for decades to come.

Nominated by their peers and workplaces, honorees were chosen by Virginia Business editors for their leadership abilities, company performance, integrity, community impact and commitment to excellence. Winners must have their primary work office in Virginia and hold a top corporate executive position (CEO, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, etc.) or equivalent job (such as executive director or owner).

This inaugural cohort of outstanding executives, who will be recognized at a June 5 awards event at Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel, includes top leaders across these major categories: Government; Higher Education; Nonprofits (small and large); Private Companies (small, medium, large and 500+ employees); and (below and above $500 million in annual revenue).

While they’re engaged in different sectors and businesses, this year’s 33 honorees all share a passion for building successful teams, creating positive workplaces and bettering their communities. Join us in celebrating this remarkable group for their achievements and dedication to success.

Government

Higher education

Small nonprofits

Large nonprofits

Small private companies

Midsize private companies

Large private companies

Private companies with 500+ employees

Small public companies

Large public companies

2025 Virginia C-Suite Awards: Large Public Companies

Enochs

MID-ATLANTIC CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AGENCY, ROANOKE

Since 2002, Enochs has been with Marsh McLennan and its predecessor, Rutherfoord Agency, which the insurance provider purchased in 2010. A graduate of Concord and Radford universities who also holds certificates from the Wharton School and Hollins University, Enochs was previously director of human resources at Carilion Clinic and served as adjunct faculty for the Jefferson College of Health Sciences.

At Marsh McLennan, which employs more than 1,100 people in its mid-Atlantic region, Enochs says she’s particularly proud of instituting the MMA Playbook, a process platform that helps streamline projects, and the Mid-Point Colleague Idea Exchange, which encourages dialogue between employees and leaders to contribute to the company’s culture.

Enochs serves on Concord’s board and has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Mental Health America’s Roanoke Valley chapter and the United Way of Roanoke Valley, among other organizations. In September 2024, after Hurricane Helene devastated communities in Virginia and North Carolina, Enochs’ office worked closely with clients to support their business needs, as well as donating money and volunteering to help families affected by the storm.

Best advice I’ve received: “Everything is just a conversation.” We get tripped up into believing business is a competition or an opportunity to be right or win, when, in fact, business presents a profound opportunity to find common ground, develop relationships, collaborate and build something great.

Foster

WILLIAM ‘BILLY’ FOSTER III

PRESIDENT AND CEO, , SUFFOLK

Hampton Roads’ homegrown community bank, TowneBank has grown prodigiously since its 1999 founding, a trend that’s been accelerating in recent years. In April, the bank announced its plans to acquire Hampton’s Old Point Financial for $203 million, just after closing on the $120 million acquisition of Midlothian-based Village Bank and its parent company. The Old Point deal is expected to conclude in the second half of 2025.

Today, TowneBank has 51 offices in Virginia and North Carolina, and more than $17 billion in assets.
An Old Dominion University graduate who has an MBA from William & Mary, Foster joined TowneBank in 2004 as regional president for Norfolk, after previously serving as eastern regional president of Central Fidelity Bank. Foster later served as TowneBank’s president for , Central Virginia and the Carolinas. In 2023, he became the bank’s president and CEO.

Foster is active on local and regional boards, including Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia and the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ Tocqueville Society, which raised $3.2 million in donations last year. He also supports the TowneBank Foundation’s annual golf tournament, which raises millions each year for the foundation’s charitable missions. TowneBank and its foundation have contributed more than $126 million to local communities since 1999.

Tibbetts

CEO AND PRESIDENT, , VIRGINIA BEACH

At the start of the year, Tibbetts took the helm as Armada Hoffler’s CEO after having joined the investment trust in 2019 as its chief operating officer and being named president in 2024. Before joining Armada Hoffler, which has more than 6 million square feet in rental properties in its portfolio and an estimated $630.5 million in planned projects, Tibbetts was president and COO for the Port of Virginia.

As Armada Hoffler’s COO, Tibbetts oversaw more than $1.2 billion in transactions and grew the company’s portfolio of net operating income by 56%. A Portsmouth native, he earned degrees from James Madison University and William & Mary’s business school and completed the advanced management program at Harvard Business School. Last year, Tibbetts was instrumental in raising $109 million in equity at Armada Hoffler.

He’s grateful that he’s been able to work in national and international business environments while staying close to his hometown, says Tibbetts, who believes strongly in providing workforce educational opportunities such as internships. He previously served on the board for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

How I foster a positive culture: It starts with a leader who actively engages as part of the team. I’ve found that providing a seat at the table fosters significant growth for those willing to put in the effort, ultimately benefiting the company as a whole.

Warner, Kaine condemn closure of Job Corps centers

SUMMARY:

  • Democratic Sens. and strongly criticized the U.S. ‘s decision to shut down contractor-operated centers, calling it a harmful move that will eliminate for thousands of young people and cut nearly 13,000 jobs.
  • The closure is expected to affect two Virginia centers — Old Dominion and Blue Ridge — which the senators say currently serve 163 students, many of whom are homeless or aging out of foster care.
  • The Labor Department cited financial deficits, including a $140 million shortfall in program year 2024 and a projected $213 million deficit for PY 2025, as the reason for the shutdown
  • The move aligns with the ‘s broader effort to slash federal spending, though Warner and Kaine argue the decision is short-sighted and undermines a program that reduces unemployment and supports vulnerable populations.

Democratic U.S. Sens. Mark. Warner and Tim Kaine last week released a joint statement condemning the ‘s decision to shut down contractor-run Job Corps centers throughout the country.

The senators say the move “will abruptly eliminate crucial job training for thousands of young Americans and cut nearly 13,000 jobs across the program’s 99 centers.”

According to a news release from Warner and Kaine, the two affected Job Corps centers in Virginia — Old Dominion in Amherst County and Blue Ridge in Smyth County — collectively serve 163 students, many of whom are homeless or aging out of foster care.

The program provides students aged 16-24 with education, vocational training and job placement assistance. The senators’ news release states that more than 80% of program graduates are employed within six months, resulting in a potential 20% reduction in unemployment in areas with a Job Corps center.

“For decades, the Job Corps program has transformed lives in Virginia and across the country by helping to equip young people with the skills and resources they need to succeed,” Warner said in a statement. “It’s deeply frustrating, and incredibly short-sighted, to see the Trump administration pause operations. We should be investing more in opportunities that lift up our young people, strengthen our workforce, and have a tremendous economic impact in the commonwealth.”

Kaine shared a similar sentiment, saying that Job Corps is “a lifeline for thousands of youths in need.” He said many of the youth who benefit from the program are homeless, in the foster care system or “facing dire socioeconomic circumstances,” but the program has given them direction, taught them hard skills and “set them up for success.”

The announced in a May 29 news release it would begin a phased pause in operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.

“The decision follows an internal review of the program’s outcome and structure and will be carried out in accordance with available funding, the statutory framework established under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and congressional notification requirements,” the department said in a statement. According to the DOL, the pause of operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps centers will occur by June 30.

“As the transition begins, the department is collaborating with state and local workforce partners to assist current students in advancing their training and connecting them with education and employment opportunities,” the department said.

The DOL says the decision aligns with ‘s fiscal 2026 budget proposal. Tens of thousands of federal jobs this year have been cut in an effort by the Trump administration to slash federal spending.

According to the DOL release, the Job Corps program faced significant financial challenges under its current operating structure. The DOL said that in program year 2024, the program operated at a $140 million deficit. The DOL said the deficit is projected to reach $213 million in PY 2025.

“Of course fiscal and safety concerns with the program need to be addressed,” Kaine said in a statement. “But instead of working to further invest in the program, the Labor Department has made the shameful choice to give up on thousands of vulnerable young Americans, including 163 in Virginia.”

Warner and Kaine say they “vigorously” opposed the Trump administration’s efforts “to roll back crucial federal programs.”

The department’s Employment and Training Administration on April 25 released the first-ever Job Corps Transparency Report, which analyzed the financial performance and operational costs of the most recently available metrics of program year 2023.

The DOL said in a summary of findings from the report that the average graduation rate was 38.6%, the average cost per student per year was about $80,285, the average total cost per graduate was roughly $155,600 and that, post separation, participants earn $16,695 annually on average.

The summary said there were 14,913 serious incident reports for PY 23. According to the release, these reports included 372 instances of inappropriate sexual behavior and sexual assaults, 1,764 acts of violence, 1,167 breaches of safety or security, 2,702 reported drug uses and 1,808 total hospital visits.

“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training and community,” Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”

Neither Blue Ridge nor Old Dominion Job Corps officials could be successfully reached by press time.

Doma Technologies, 2 other bizs merge to form health tech contractor

Doma Technologies, and have merged and rebranded as Commence, a health care based in .

, a private equity independent sponsor based in Puerto Rico, acquired Livanta and Advanta in September 2023 and Doma in June 2024 and merged them Thursday. The combined company has about 550 employees. In addition to its Virginia Beach headquarters, Commence has a support office in Las Vegas.

Pleasant Land Managing Partner Gavin Long said in a statement, “The name Commence signifies that we are embarking on a journey toward better health care outcomes — for the clients we work with and populations we serve. … By combining the expertise and resources of , Livanta and Advanta Services, Commence empowers health organizations to achieve their full potential.”

Founded in 2000, Doma Technologies was a cloud-based document management company that worked with federal government and private sector clients. Also based in Virginia Beach, Livanta was a health care IT company. Advanta Government Services was based in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, and served federal and state government entities.

Doma announced in November 2023 that it was investing $3.7 million in an expansion in Virginia Beach and planning to create about 307 jobs over the following three years.

Ian Checcio, chief growth officer of Commence, said in an emailed statement: “We anticipate continued growth and expansion with some slight delays to the original plan due to ongoing budgetary and policy changes in the federal government.”

Commence will provide health care solutions through a proprietary platform that uses AI to analyze and organize data. The newly formed company also has more than 500 licensed clinicians to provide medical reviews, ensure solutions meet compliance and help streamline health data processes.

“As the federal government seeks to boost the efficiency of its health care spending, Commence empowers health agencies such as Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services to optimize programs of any size, scope or complexity,” Checcio said in a statement.

Commence serves 60% of the Medicare population across 27 states, an estimated 30 million to 40 million people. It has completed more than 1.3 million independent, physician-reviewed case evaluations, according to a news release, and its interventions have prevented more than 280,000 patients being prematurely discharged.

China blasts US chip export bans and student visa plans

SUMMARY:

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China criticized the U.S. on Monday over moves it allegedly harmed Chinese interests, including issuing AI chip export control guidelines, stopping the sale of chip design software to China, and planning to revoke .

“These practices seriously violate the consensus,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement, referring to a China-U.S. joint statement in which the United States and China agreed to slash their massive recent tariffs, restarting stalled trade between the world’s two biggest economies.

But last month’s de-escalation in ‘s trade wars did nothing to resolve underlying differences between Beijing and Washington and Monday’s statement showed how easily such agreements can lead to further turbulence.

The deal lasts 90 days, creating time for U.S. and Chinese negotiators to reach a more substantive agreement. But the pause also leaves tariffs higher than before Trump started ramping them up last month. And businesses and investors must contend with uncertainty about whether the truce will last.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to drop the 145% tax Trump imposed last month to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods to 10% from 125%.

The Commerce Ministry said China held up its end of the deal, canceling or suspending tariffs and non-tariff measures taken against the U.S. “reciprocal tariffs” following the agreement.

“The United States has unilaterally provoked new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating the uncertainty and instability of bilateral economic and trade relations,” while China has stood by its commitments, the statement said.

It also threatened unspecified retaliation, saying China will “continue to take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

Trump stirred further controversy Friday, saying he will no longer be nice with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an agreement with the United States.

Hours later, Trump said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and “hopefully we’ll work that out,” while still insisting China had violated the agreement.

“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump posted. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

In response to recent comments by Trump, the Commerce Ministry said of the U.S.: “Instead of reflecting on itself, it has turned the tables and unreasonably accused China of violating the consensus, which is seriously contrary to the facts.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the Chinese were “just slow rolling the deal” from Geneva.

Appearing on Fox News on Sunday, Lutnick said the U.S. was “taking certain actions to show them what it feels like on the other side of that equation,” adding that Trump would “work it out” with Xi.

The also stepped up the clash with China in other ways last week, announcing that it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S.

U.S. campuses host more than 275,000 students from China.

Both countries are in a race to develop advanced technologies such as , with Washington seeking to curb China’s access to the most advanced computer chips. China is also seeking to displace the U.S. as the leading power in the Asia-Pacific, including through gaining control over close U.S. partner and leading tech giant Taiwan.

EU plans countermeasures against US steel tariffs

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The European Union on Monday said it is preparing “” against the United States after the ‘s surprise tariffs on steel rattled and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington.

Last week, ahead of Friday’s surprise announcement, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. agreed to “accelerate talks” on a deal. “In the event that our negotiations do not lead to a balanced outcome, the EU is prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to this latest tariff increase,” spokesperson Olof Gill told a press conference in Brussels.

He said the EU is finalizing an expanded list of countermeasures that would automatically take effect on July 14 or earlier. That’s the date when a 90-day pause, intended to ease negotiations, ends in tariffs announced by the two economic powerhouses on each other. About halfway through that grace period, Trump announced a 50% tariffs on steel imports.

Trump’s return to the White House has come with an unrivaled barrage of tariffs, with levies threatened, added and, often, taken away. Top officials at the EU’s executive commission says they’re pushing hard for a trade deal to avoid a 50% tariff on imported goods.

Negotiations will continue on Wednesday in Paris in a meeting between the EU’s top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, and his counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defense items from the U.S., and lower duties on cars, but it isn’t likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax — which is akin to a sales tax — or open up the EU to American beef.

The EU has offered the U.S. a “zero for zero” outcome in which tariffs would be removed on both sides for industrial goods including autos. Trump has dismissed that, but EU officials have said it’s still on the table.

The announcement Friday of a staggering 50% levy on steel imports stoked fear that big-ticket purchases from cars to washing machines to houses could see major price increases. But those metals are also so ubiquitous in packaging that they’re likely to pack a punch across consumer products.

US stocks dip as tariffs and oil prices shake markets

SUMMARY:

  • US stocks dip amid steel tariff concerns
  • drops 218 points, S&P 500 down 0.1%
  • Automakers down, steel stocks up as oil prices jump
  • Treasury yields rise in bond market reaction

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Monday following some discouraging updates on U.S. manufacturing, the area of the economy that  is trying to revive through his trade war and tariffs.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 218 points, or 0.5%, as of 12:41 p.m. Eastern time, and the composite rose 0.2%.

Stocks dipped after a report from the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity shrank by more last month than economists expected. Trump has been warning that U.S. businesses and households could feel some pain as he tries to use tariffs to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the country, but their on-and-off rollout has created lots of uncertainty.

“The impact of ever-changing trade policies of the current administration has wreaked havoc on suppliers’ ability to react and remain profitable,” one company in the transportation equipment industry said in the ISM’s survey.

Another in the computer and electronics products industry said, “ spending cuts or delays, as well as tariffs, are raising hell with businesses. No one is willing to take on inventory risk.”

A separate report from on manufacturing came in better than expected, but the overall figure “masks worrying developments under the hood of the U.S. manufacturing economy,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. He said uncertainty caused by tariffs has worries high about supplier delays and rising prices.

Monday’s moves also came after more harsh rhetoric crossed between the world’s two largest economies, just a few weeks after the United States and had agreed to pause many of their tariffs that had threatened to drag the economy into a recession.

China blasted the United States on Monday for moves that it said hurt China’s interests, including issuing AI chip export control guidelines, stopping the sale of to China and planning to revoke .

“These practices seriously violate the consensus” reached during trade discussions in Geneva last month, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. That followed President Donald Trump’s accusation at the end of last week, where he said China was not living up to its end of the agreement that paused their tariffs against each other.

Hopes for lower tariffs because of trade deals that Trump could reach with other countries were the main reasons for a big rally on Wall Street last month, which brought the S&P 500 back within 3.8% of its all-time high. The index had dropped roughly 20% below the mark in April.

But Trump on Friday told Pennsylvania steelworkers he’s doubling the tariff on steel imports to 50% to protect their industry, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for a metal used to make housing, autos and other goods.

Later in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump confirmed the steel tariff and said that aluminum tariffs would also be doubled to 50%. Both tariff hikes would go into effect Wednesday, Trump said.

That helped stocks of U.S. steelmakers climb. Nucor jumped 8.3%, and Steel Dynamics rallied 9.3%.

But automakers and other heavy users of metals weakened. General Motors reversed by 4.6%, and Ford fell 4.4%.

Lyra Therapeutics soared 409.3% after reporting positive late-stage trial results of an implant to treat chronic sinus inflammation in some patients.

Some of Monday’s strongest action was in the oil market, where the price of crude climbed roughly 4%. The countries in the OPEC+ alliance decided to increase their production again, a move that often pushes crude prices down because it puts more on the market, but analysts said investors were widely expecting it. The past weekend’s attacks by Ukraine in Russia also helped to raise uncertainty about the flow of oil and gas around the world.

A barrel of U.S. crude rose 3.9% to $63.19, while Brent crude, the international standard, gained 3.8% to $65.15.

In abroad, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% following the harsh words tossed between the United States and China. A report over the weekend also said that China’s factory activity contracted in May, although the decline slowed from April.

Indexes also dipped across much of the rest of Asia and Europe. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was one of the biggest movers after falling 1.3%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose as worries continue about how much debt the U.S. government will pile on due to plans to cut taxes and increase the deficit.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.46% from 4.41% late Friday and from just 4.01% roughly two months ago. That’s a notable move for the bond market.

Besides making it more expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money, such increases in Treasury yields can deter investors from paying high prices for stocks and other investments.

Kilgore elected Virginia House GOP leader, succeeding Gilbert

On Sunday, stepped down as Republican minority leader in the , and elected to succeed him. If the wins a majority of the House’s 100 seats this fall, Kilgore would become speaker.

Shenandoah County attorney Gilbert, who was formerly House speaker, is in the running to become the next U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia and had reportedly offered to step down as the party’s leader in the House if Republican delegates chose to hold a election.

Kilgore, R-, has served in the House since 1994 and was previously House majority leader during Gilbert’s term as speaker in 2022-24. He unsuccessfully challenged Gilbert in 2021 for the speaker’s seat and serves on the Labor and Commerce, Courts of Justice and Rules committees.

“I’m honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me,” Kilgore said in a statement. “We need disciplined leadership, a unified message and a clear strategy to take back the House. I’m ready to get to work. We have no time to waste. The 2025 are around the corner, and we need to operate like a team ready to win. That starts now.”

The twin brother of former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, Terry Kilgore represents the counties of Lee, Scott and Wise, part of Dickenson County, and the City of Norton in . A long-time commissioner and former chair for the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, he helped launch InvestSWVA, a marketing campaign to attract business to Southwest Virginia, and has been a prominent voice for building small modular nuclear reactors in Virginia and repurposing abandoned coal mines in the economically struggling Southwest region.

In November, all 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates are up for election, in addition to the state’s next governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

The power balance between the parties has seesawed in recent years, with Democrats controlling both the House and Virginia State Senate, as well as the governorship, from 2020 to 2021. But in the November 2021 elections, Republicans won back the House and the governorship.

30-year mortgage rates climb to 6.89%, highest since Feb

SUMMARY: 

  • 30-year hit 6.89% this week
  • Highest average rate since February
  • Home loan costs rise as Treasury yields climb

The average rate on a in the U.S. rose this week to its highest level since early February, further pushing up for .

The rate increased to 6.89% from 6.86% last week, mortgage buyer said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.03%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose. The average rate ticked up to 6.03% from 6.01% last week. It’s still down from 6.36% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. The key barometer is the 10-year , which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Bond yields have been trending higher, reflecting bond market investors’ uncertainty over the ‘s ever-changing tariffs policy and worry over exploding federal debt.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.43% in midday trading Thursday, down from 4.47% late Wednesday.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to its high so far this year of just above 7%, set in mid-January. The average rate’s low point so far was six weeks ago, when it briefly dropped to 6.62%. After rising for three straight weeks, the average rate is now at its highest level since Feb. 6, when it averaged 6.89%.

High mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have reduced purchasing power for many prospective homebuyers this year. That’s helped keep the U.S. in a sales slump that dates back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from the rock-bottom lows they reached during the pandemic.

Last year, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. Sales fell last month to the slowest pace for the month of April going back to 2009.

Rising mortgage rates have helped dampen sales during what’s traditionally the peak period of the year for . Mortgage applications fell 1.2% last week from a week earlier as home loan borrowing costs rose, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for a loan to buy a home were up 18% from a year earlier.

New data suggest sales could slow further in coming months. An index of pending U.S. home sales fell 6.3% last month from March and declined 2.5% from April last year, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a bellwether for future completed home sales.

“At this critical stage of the housing market, it is all about mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Despite an increase in housing inventory, we are not seeing higher home sales. Lower mortgage rates are essential to bring home buyers back into the housing market.”

Economists expect mortgage rates to remain volatile in coming months, with forecasts calling for the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to range between 6% and 7% this year.

States offer big incentives for data centers’ growth

SUMMARY:

  • States compete to attract with big incentives
  • Financial incentives and worth millions
  • Pushback from communities over data center expansions

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The explosive growth of the data centers needed to power America’s fast-rising demand for and platforms has spurred states to dangle incentives in hopes of landing an economic bonanza, but it’s also eliciting pushback from lawmakers and communities.

Activity in state legislatures — and competition for data centers — has been brisk in recent months, amid an intensifying buildout of the energy-hungry data centers and a search for new sites that was ignited by the late 2022 debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Many states are offering financial incentives worth tens of millions of dollars. In some cases, those incentives are winning approval, but only after a fight or efforts to require data centers to pay for their own electricity or meet standards.

Some state lawmakers have contested the incentives in places where a heavy influx of massive data centers has caused friction with neighboring communities. In large part, the fights revolve around the things that tech companies and data center developers seem to most want: large tracts of land, tax breaks and huge volumes of electricity and water.

And their needs are exploding in size: from dozens of megawatts to hundreds of megawatts and from dozens of acres up to hundreds of acres for large-scale data centers sometimes called a hyperscaler.

While critics say data centers employ relatively few people and pack little long-term job-creation punch, their advocates say they require a huge number of construction jobs to build, spend enormous sums on goods and local vendors and generate strong tax revenues for local governments.

In Pennsylvania, lawmakers are writing to fast-track permitting for data centers. The state is viewed as an up-and-coming data center destination, but there is also a sense that Pennsylvania is missing out on billions of dollars in investment that’s landing in other states.

“Pennsylvania has companies that are interested, we have a labor force that is capable and we have a lot of water and natural gas,” said state Rep. Eric Nelson. “That’s the winning combination. We just have a bureaucratic process that won’t open its doors.”

It’s been a big year for data centers

Kansas approved a new sales tax exemption on goods to build and equip data centers, while Kentucky and Arkansas expanded pre-existing exemptions so that more projects will qualify.

Michigan approved one that carries some protections, including requirements to use municipal utility water and clean energy, meet energy-efficiency measures and ensure that it pays for its own electricity.

Such tax exemptions are now so widespread — about three dozen states have some version of it — that it is viewed as a must-have for a state to compete.

“It’s often a nonstarter if you don’t have them, for at least the hyperscalers,” said Andy Cvengros, who helps lead the data center practice at commercial giant JLL. “It’s just such a massive impact on the overall spend of the data center.”

Zoning, energy fights often frustrate developers

In West Virginia, lawmakers approved a bill to create “microgrid” districts free from local zoning and electric rate regulations where data centers can procure power from standalone power plants.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, called the bill his “landmark policy proposal” for 2025 to put West Virginia “in a class of its own to attract new data centers and information technology companies.”

Utah and Oklahoma passed laws to make it easier for data center developers to procure their own power supply without going through the grid while Mississippi rolled out tens of millions of dollars in incentives last year to land a pair of Amazon data centers.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster signed legislation earlier this month that eased regulations to speed up power plant construction to meet demand from data centers, including a massive Facebook facility.

The final bill was fought by some lawmakers who say they worried about data centers using disproportionate amounts of water, taking up large tracts of land and forcing regular ratepayers to finance the cost of new power plants.

“I do not like that we’re making customers pay for two power plants when they only need one,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told colleagues during floor debate.

Still, state Sen. Russell Ott suggested that data centers should be viewed like any other electricity customer because they reflect a society that is “addicted” to electricity and are “filling that need and that desire of what we all want. And we’re all guilty of it. We’re all responsible for it.”

Some lawmakers are hesitant

In data center hotspots, some lawmakers are pushing back.

Lawmakers in Oregon are advancing legislation to order utility regulators to ensure data centers pay the cost of power plants and power lines necessary to serve them.

Georgia lawmakers are debating a similar bill.

In Virginia, the most heavily developed data center zone in the U.S., Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have forced more disclosures from data center developers about their site’s noise pollution and water use.

In December 2024, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) released a study projecting that energy demand from data centers in Virginia could more than triple by 2040, and residents in Northern Virginia — the epicenter of the state’s data center industry — have fought against data center growth, and opposition is growing in other regions as well.

In , city councilors are set to vote this month on a 350,000-square-foot data center zoning request that the planning commission recommended denying, and in County, a developer withdrew its rezoning application for an $8.85 billion data center campus and natural gas power plant in April. Meanwhile, , known as “Data Center Alley,” has placed new restrictions on regulation of data center construction.

In Texas, which endured a deadly winter blackout in 2021, lawmakers are wrestling with how to protect the state’s electric grid from fast-growing data center demand.

Lawmakers still want to attract data centers, but a bill that would speed up direct hookups between data centers and power plants has provisions that are drawing protests from business groups.

Those provisions would give utility regulators new authority to approve those agreements and order big electric users such as data centers to switch to backup generators in a power emergency.

Walt Baum, the CEO of Powering Texans, which represents competitive power plant owners, warned lawmakers that those provisions might be making data center developers hesitant to do business in Texas.

“You’ve seen a lot of new announcements in other states and over the last several months and not as much here in Texas,” Baum told House members during a May 7 committee hearing. “I think everybody right now is in a waiting pattern and I worry that we could be losing to other states while that waiting pattern is happening.”

Virginia Business Deputy Editor Kate Andrews contributed to this story.