VA Data Center Air Pollution Ends In $2.5 Million Fine For Microsoft

LEESBURG, VA – Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality has ordered the Microsoft Corporation to pay a $2.5 million civil charge over air pollution from a data center it operates in Leesburg.

The penalty stems from a June 2025 substation failure that led Microsoft’s data center on Compass Creek Parkway to run 62 diesel-powered emergency engines for seven days while the center received no grid power. This caused the facility to exceed its permitted emissions for gases and particulate matter, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and more.

DEQ and Microsoft spent about eight months discussing how exactly to measure emissions for that week before settling on an estimate.

The Largest Fine Yet, A Pittance For A Tech Giant

According to the order issued Monday, Microsoft is to pay $99,000 as a fine. The remaining $2.4 million is to be given to the DEQ to purchase air quality monitoring equipment for the state. DEQ says it will use about $1.5 million to purchase a mobile air monitoring station capable of reporting EPA-certifiable air monitoring data and use about $900,000 to buy 45 air quality monitoring sensors for its Data Center Air Monitoring Project, with any leftover funds going to DEQ. This is the largest fine issued to a data center for air quality violations in Virginia history.

Microsoft’s capital expenditures on data centers in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 totaled more than $37.5 billion, according to Data Center Dynamics.

In response to the fine, Microsoft said, "Microsoft is committed to responsible data center development and operation in Virginia and around the world. During this event last June, we worked closely with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, providing regular updates on our response as we worked toward a resolution,” in a statement provided to WJLA.

Controversy Over DEQ's Relationship With Data Centers

Staff at Virginia’s DEQ recently appeared to be rushing to the defense of the data center industry following a report that found that Loudoun County’s Vantage Data Center facility, operating at permitted emission limits, “would contribute to measurable air pollution and health burdens across surrounding communities, including populous areas and communities already experiencing cumulative environmental and socioeconomic stressors.”

Some residents have complained about air pollution from the centers’ backup generators across the county.

Loudoun County supervisors are currently overhauling their approach to data center development. Northern Virginia residents organizing in opposition to data centers stress that they want democratic processes to govern how the projects are approved and developed.

A recent Patch survey asked what Americans think about the data center and AI boom.