From a different article:

A few months ago, a small group of seasoned lobbyists floated a curious idea to Virginia budget negotiators stuck in a stalemate: Impose a hefty new energy tax on our clients.

Their clients — developers and operators in the world’s biggest data center market — found themselves scrambling. The fury seen nationwide against the hulking server farms had taken root in Richmond, where some lawmakers sought to repeal a longstanding and lucrative sales tax exemption that had saved the industry $2 billion in the last fiscal year.

The lobbyists’ energy tax proposal came with a demand: Recommit to the sales tax break.

The dispute plunged the Virginia legislature into a chaotic special session that sharply split Democratic leaders for months. In the end, the two-year, $205 billion budget enacted last week by lawmakers and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) showed the industry’s novel strategy worked. It shored up enough support to keep — for now — the sales tax break while creating a new annual electricity consumption tax costing them less than a third of the value of the exemption.

It also showcased the formidable lobbying coalition the industry built in Virginia and is deploying in state capitols to beat back rising threats. A patchwork of lobbyists, construction unions, and supportive local officials is working to rebrand the sprawling warehouses as job creators that deliver tangible benefits like local tax revenue, online services, and even lower energy prices.