{"id":520115,"date":"2025-04-09T10:39:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T14:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?p=520115"},"modified":"2025-04-14T12:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T16:01:46","slug":"inside-the-divisive-debate-surrounding-northern-virginias-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/inside-the-divisive-debate-surrounding-northern-virginias-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Divisive Debate Surrounding Northern Virginia&#8217;s Data Centers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When John McAuliff stands at the front door of his home in The Plains, a small, incorporated town in Fauquier County, he\u2019s 15 minutes from a massive data center in one direction and 20 minutes from a massive data center in the other direction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have been letting data center growth run unchecked,\u201d he says. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The numbers show that Northern Virginia\u2019s data center footprint grew 500 percent between 2015 and 2023, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nvtc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Northern Virginia Technology Council<\/a> (NVTC).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It depends on who you ask. \u201cA lot of people have a lot of different opinions,\u201d McAuliff says, and that might be putting it mildly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-an-economic-engine\">An Economic Engine&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As physical facilities that house computer equipment and networking hardware, data centers are essential infrastructure in an increasingly technology-driven world. But why are so many landing in NoVA?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a combination of factors. The region was the birthplace of the internet, so it had an early stake in the game. There\u2019s ample access to energy available (data centers need tons of that), as well as wide-open space and proximity to big population centers. Tax incentives, fiber infrastructure, and a big pool of skilled workers add to the attractions, NVTC reports.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/buddyRizer.jpg\" alt=\"Buddy Rizer, executive director, Loudoun County Department of Economic Development \" class=\"wp-image-520118\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Buddy Rizer, executive director, Loudoun County Department of Economic Development (Courtesy Loudoun Economic Development)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>All of these factors have combined to make Virginia the world\u2019s largest data center market, and that\u2019s driving the regional economy, says Buddy Rizer, executive director of the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/biz.loudoun.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department of Economic Development in Loudoun County<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn today\u2019s world, there are not many growth industries, and we are very fortunate that we had a first-mover advantage in what is probably the biggest growth industry of our lifetime: digital infrastructure,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 2024 NVTC report details the economic impact, which includes some $203 billion invested in Virginia data centers. Together, these facilities employ some 12,140 operational workers, about 90 percent of them in Northern Virginia. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data centers also created some 14,240 construction jobs. The boom has created $2.8 billion in operational and construction pay and benefits, NVTC reports.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And there\u2019s a ripple effect: In 2023, the growth of data centers indirectly created some 78,140 jobs and $31.4 billion in related economic output. \u201cFor every job inside a Virginia data center, 3.5 additional jobs are supported in the rest of Virginia\u2019s economy, not counting construction jobs,\u201d NVTC reports.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those numbers have meaning, Rizer says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I arrived here 18 years ago, we were laying people off, we were cutting back services, we were raising taxes. Our tax base was only 19 percent commercial. The rest was residential,\u201d he says. \u201cFast forward to today. We have one of the strongest local economies in the country. We\u2019ve been able to lower our tax rate by 42 cents. About 50 percent of our tax base is commercial.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what\u2019s going on behind those numbers? Residents have raised concerns about quality of life, energy consumption, and environmental impacts \u2014 and state lawmakers are listening.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-growing-concerns\">Growing Concerns&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Opposition to data centers is impacting politics in the region and at the state level.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Prince William County, then Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler led a majority of the board in approving the <a href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/news\/2023\/12\/14\/massive-pw-digital-gateway-data-center-plan-approved-in-prince-william-county\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Prince William Digital Gateway<\/a>, a plan to rezone more than 2,000 acres of farmland to accept data centers. In June 2023, she lost her seat to data center opponent <a href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/04\/14\/deshundra-jefferson-talks-about-her-first-year-in-office-in-prince-william-county\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deshundra Jefferson<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In January 2025, state legislators introduced a bipartisan legislative package aimed at trimming the explosive growth of data centers, with bills that target rising energy costs and call for more state oversight of the industry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we fail to act, the unchecked growth of the data center industry will leave Virginia\u2019s families, will leave their businesses, footing the bill for infrastructure costs, adjoining environmental degradation and facing escalating energy rates,\u201d state Sen. Russet Perry, a Democrat, said at a press conference announcing the legislative package. \u201cThe status quo is not sustainable.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elena Schlossberg, executive director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/protectpwc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coalition to Protect Prince William County<\/a>, agrees. She started campaigning against data centers in 2014, in response to a proposed transmission line that Dominion Energy wanted to build to power an Amazon Web Services campus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/elena.jpg\" alt=\"Elena Schlossberg, executive director, Coalition to Protect Prince William County\" class=\"wp-image-520119\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Elena Schlossberg, executive director, Coalition to Protect Prince William County (Courtesy Elena Schlossberg)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe risk to the community was Dominion Energy would exercise eminent domain to take your property, to feed energy for one really, really wealthy customer,\u201d she says. \u201cWe fought Dominion for almost five years, and we forced them to settle on a partially buried route.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Riding the momentum of that partial win, the coalition has been fighting the ongoing data center explosion, with Schlossberg voicing a range of concerns.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI live in Haymarket, in what remains the rural area in Prince William County, but the data centers are approximately 5 miles from me,\u201d she says. She sees the 105-foot-tall monopoles laden with huge power lines and worries about the region\u2019s energy supply. She and many others wonder: Will Dominion build new power plants. And will NoVA consumers and businesses bear the cost?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd where is that energy coming from?\u201d Schlossberg asks. \u201cIn the state of Virginia, we were working towards the Virginia Clean Economy Act: clean air, clean water. We were making progress towards those goals, and that\u2019s being lost due to a new reliance on coal and gas and diesel generators. If you live next to a data center campus, they will have anywhere from 50 to 200 diesel generators. I\u2019m not talking about the kind you go to Home Depot to buy. I\u2019m talking about diesel generators the size of tractor trailers.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019s worried, too, about quality of life. The Digital Gateway, for example, spans roughly 2,100 acres \u201cright next to &#8230; Manassas National Battlefield Park, one of the most important historical parks in the country,\u201d she says. (The American Battlefield Trust has voiced opposition, saying the massive project would \u201coverwhelm\u201d the park.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In rural areas, paving over vast tracts of open space threatens the local water supply, Schlossberg says, and it\u2019s just not a logical use of land. A decade ago, a plan for the area now slated to become the Digital Gateway called for hundreds of homes to be built on that land. Schlossberg argues it makes no sense to scrap those home-building plans \u201cat a time when affordable housing is a high priority.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-is-transparency-an-issue\">Is Transparency an&nbsp;Issue? &nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>McAuliff says he isn\u2019t rigidly opposed to data centers, but like many in the region, he\u2019d like to see a more transparent process. To that end, he recently announced his plan to run for state legislature in 2025 as a Democrat.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a small-business owner (he owns the historic Chilton House Suites in Warrenton), McAuliff says he understands the economic arguments. But he expresses alarm at the way data center decisions are being made. \u201cI\u2019m so frustrated with what my current state delegate is doing that I\u2019m filing to run against him,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rizer insists that in Loudoun County, there is transparency \u2014 \u201cthese things are openly discussed,\u201d he says \u2014 but McAuliff argues that across the region, more citizen input is needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom a local perspective, the problem is primarily that folks are not getting consulted on this land use,\u201d he says. Data centers \u201chave an impact on water, on the size and number of power lines, on the availability of energy. We just have to take a serious look at what those impacts are going to be for local residents.\u201d<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u202fFeature image, stock.adobe.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>This story originally ran in our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/in-this-issue\/in-this-issue-april-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April Issue<\/a>. For more stories like this,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.secure.darwin.cx\/I34AWEBN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">subscribe<\/a>&nbsp;to Northern Virginia Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Northern Virginia residents and regulators weigh in on the risks and rewards of expansion. ","protected":false},"author":1016748,"featured_media":520117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-520115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v26.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Inside the Divisive Debate Surrounding NoVA&#039;s Data Centers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Northern Virginia residents and regulators weigh in on the risks and rewards of data center expansion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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