Community members speak out against a substation at Plaza 500
Residents of the Bren Mar Park area and beyond packed a meeting of the Mason District Land Use Committee (MDLUC) on July 28 to oppose a massive substation for the Plaza 500 data center.
Dozens of people who spoke at the meeting raised concerns about noise, the lack of public engagement, outdoor lights on 24 hours a day, environmental damage as the site is located in a resource protection area, air pollution, and Dominion’s practice of putting profits ahead of people. “Think about the human costs,” a resident told the Dominion representatives at the meeting.
The Board of Supervisors already approved the data center, to be developed by Starwood Capital Group. The State Corporation Commission last year approved a transmission line to connect a future substation next to the data center to the Van Dorn substation.
Related story: State agency approves transmission line in Bren Mar Park
The substation, however, hasn’t been approved. The Fairfax County Planning Commission is holding a hearing on it on Sept. 24. Since substations go through a 2232 process for public facilities, the Planning Commission has the final say. There won’t be a hearing or action by the Board of Supervisors.
The MDLUC will take a vote at its next meeting, on Sept. 22, on whether or not to endorse the substation proposal. The MDLUC vote is nonbinding; it’s merely a recommendation to the Planning Commission.
The Dominion representatives at the meeting said they couldn’t answer simple questions from the residents about the results of a noise study or the height of the transmission line. (At an open house on the transmission line, Dominion said it would be 125 feet tall.)
Chris McDonald, senior siting and permitting specialist at Dominion, offered incorrect information, claiming that the substation would be 300 feet from residences, while documents on the project show the distance is just 67 feet.
Alis Wang, the Mason District representative on the Planning Commission, asked why the substation couldn’t be located somewhere else not so close to people’s homes.
McDonald acknowledged that would require a rezoning and it would raise Dominion’s costs.
“This location was chosen without taking into account the neighbors, which is unfortunate,” Wang said.
Related story: Mason land use committee to consider substation for Plaza 500 data center
“This is completely inappropriate and incomplete,” said Brian Sterling, president of the Bren Pointe HOA, which is adjacent to the substation.
Sterling noted there hadn’t been any public meetings on the substation until now and that the MDLUC in 2022 urged the Planning Commission to oppose the data center.
At the time, the Starwood Capital Group had paid $90 million for the property but wouldn’t say what they wanted to build on the site. Starwood has never met with the community on the project and didn’t send anyone to the MDLUC meeting.
“They’re playing games with us and with the county,” Sterling said. He called on Dominion to locate the substation at the Van Dorn site, which is not located near residents. “Or better yet, a data center should not be going on this site.”
Noting that ratepayers are subsidizing the cost of data centers, another resident asked, “Why should we help pay for any of this when we’re not getting any benefits?” The growth of artificial intelligence is driving data center projects, while “AI is being used by ICE to surveil our communities.”
Related story: BoS backs data center industry on substations, rejects residents’ concerns
Questions were also raised – but not answered – about why the SCC approved the transmission line before the substation was approved, whether other locations could be considered, and whether the transmission lines could be moved to the other side of Plaza 500.
Several residents of the Landmark area in the City of Alexandria said they will be affected by the data center and substation but weren’t informed about the project until the day before the meeting.
“Putting a substation in the most dense area of Virginia is insane,” a resident of the Watergate at Landmark told the Dominion representatives. “You picked the cheapest option, not for the well-being of the community.”
Another resident berated Dominion for talking about the color of the 12-foot perimeter walls but not “how you’re going to abate noise, make sure water will be clean, and that diesel generators won’t be used. How do we know the people building this are doing it for the benefit of the community?”
“It’s frustrating to have to be here and argue that we matter,” said Jordan Bassford. “It’s really frustrating to have to ask if you care about us.”