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Virginia’s power transformer industry is expanding as electricity demand grows. Hitachi Energy is investing $457 million in its South Boston factory, adding more than 800 jobs and building a new plant expected to be completed in late 2028. Lynchburg-based Delta Star is also expanding, with plans to add more than 400 jobs. Data centers are part of the demand, alongside population growth, new power generation, electrified manufacturing and an aging grid in need of upgrades. Manufacturers are racing to increase production amid growing backlogs and reliance on foreign supply chains. Del. Sam Rasoul has added a new credential to his years in the Virginia House of Delegates: licensed lawyer. The Roanoke Democrat quietly began law school in 2022, completing a part-time, year-round hybrid program through the University of Dayton while continuing his legislative and consulting work. He graduated in May, took the bar exam in July and learned Friday that he had passed. Rasoul says he hopes to focus his legal practice on civil rights and criminal defense, though he has made no immediate career moves. Opponents have argued that Ballot Question 1 would invalidate existing state law regarding access to abortion care. Law experts say that it would take a court decision to overturn state statute. A planned $750 million investment at New River Valley Commerce Park is off, at least for now. New River Valley LLC had until Oct. 5 to close on the 475-acre Pulaski County site, but the contract expired without a sale. The developer had been set to pay about $1.6 million, including a $580,000 deposit already in escrow. Over the next decade, it would have invested at least $750 million in industrial projects, potentially including a data center. No data center end user had been identified, and no replacement developer is known. Virginia’s energy demand is rising — and the scale of what may be needed is striking. Under current policies, the state would need to add twice as much solar, build 16 more wind farms and potentially bring up to 17 small nuclear reactors online. But the governor’s energy plan is more than a list of possible power sources. Its scenarios raise a practical question: where could all that energy infrastructure go when communities are already resisting projects near them?

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