Power & Energy
Virginia DEQ orders Microsoft to pay record $2.5 million after Leesburg data center exceeds air permit
Confirmed
- Date
- 2026-09-15
- Location
- Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States
- Category
- Power & Energy
- NOISEPOLLUTION
- Distance from data center
- Not stated in sources
Evidence
- Did the harm happen?
- Officially confirmed
- Did the data center cause it?
- Confirmed
- AI connection
- No verified AI connection
- What was affected
- Air
- Why
- State penalty for exceeding the facility's own air permit.
A Microsoft data center on Compass Creek Parkway in Leesburg exceeded its air quality permits in 2025 after a failure at a nearby substation left it running on backup generators for seven days. Virginia DEQ required Microsoft to pay a record $2.5 million penalty.