Tag: data centers
Dominion responds to concerns about a monopole at the Lincolnia Park pool
Lincolnia Park residents who worried that Dominion Energy planned to construct a monopole at the community pool finally got an answer from the utility. Dominion was merely seeking eminent domain for a soil comparison test. Dominion has completed the soil testing and has no further interest in the site. The confusion started in July when … Continued
Residents urged to come out in force for the hearing on the Edsall substation
Opponents of Dominion Energy’s proposal for a five-acre substation to serve a data center on Edsall Road are hoping for a huge turnout at the Fairfax County Planning Commission hearing on Dec. 2. The Save Bren Mar Coalition, a grassroots group that has been fighting against the data center and the substation for years, organized … Continued
Dominion wants to construct a monopole at the Lincolnia pool for a data center
The Lincolnia Park community is alarmed by Dominion Energy’s plans to build an electrical transmission tower on a field owned by the Lincolnia Park Recreation Club. The utility is threatening to use eminent domain to obtain rights to the property. Dominion says the project is associated with a proposed substation to serve Starwood Capital’s planned … Continued
DOGE victim launches campaign for the House of Delegates
John Michael Forrest, a Democratic candidate running for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2027, is focusing on reducing the costs of rental housing, enacting stricter rules on campaign financing, and regulating AI. Forrest is the first candidate to announce plans to go up against Del. Vivian Watts in a Democratic Primary expected to be … Continued
Residents urge Virginia to impose a data center moratorium
About 200 people – young activists, older adults, and parents with strollers – came out to a rally and march on Oct. 10 to show their support for a moratorium on data centers in Virginia. The event took place outside the Plaza 500 site in the Bren Mar Park community where Starwood Capital is planning … Continued
Spanberger releases plan on data center accountability
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger unveiled a Data Center Accountability Framework on Sept. 18 to give communities a voice in local approvals, protect residents from higher energy bills, and enforce strong environmental standards. The new data center policies and implementation plans are outlined in Executive Order 22, which also creates an AI Task Force “to address growing … Continued
Viewpoint: Virginia’s powerful problem
By Paul Gilbert Data centers, global climate change, the merger of power companies, and corporate money in politics seem like different issues, but they are all connected – in some ways literally, through power lines, and in other ways through cause and effect. Let’s “think globally, and act locally.” Climate change is driven by too … Continued
Jimenez urges Planning Commission to reject substation
Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez has sent a letter to the Fairfax County Planning Commission recommending denial of the substation that would serve the data center at the Plaza 500 site in Bren Mar Park. In recent days, the Alexandria City Council and Rep. Don Beyer have also urged the Planning Commission to reject Dominion … Continued
Data centers must pay for transmission infrastructure
The State Corporation Commission is ordering data centers to cover the cost of transmission infrastructure built exclusively to serve data centers. That will save Virginia families, small businesses, and other ratepayers “hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The governor’s office had submitted a filing with the SCC in response to Dominion Energy’s … Continued
Beyer urges Planning Commission to reject data center substation
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th District) urges the Fairfax County Planning Commission to deny the 2232 application for Dominion’s proposed substation to serve the Edsall Data Center planned for the Plaza 500 site in Bren Mar Park. “I have serious concerns about the potential impact of this project on residents,” Beyer wrote in a letter to … Continued
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 Dominion Energy’s proposal for a massive substation to serve the Plaza 500 data center on Edsall Road. Dozens of people who spoke at the meeting raised concerns about noise, the … Continued
Mason land use committee to consider substation for Plaza 500 data center
The Bren Mar Park community’s four-year battle against Starwood Capital’s proposed data center at the Plaza 500 site on Edsall Road is nearing the final stage. The Fairfax County Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Sept. 24 on Dominion Energy’s proposal for an electrical substation and transmission line less than 70 … Continued
Virginia budget imposes taxes on data centers for electrical consumption
The Virginia General Assembly approved a budget for the next two years that retains the sales tax exemption for data centers but adds an electricity consumption tax for the facilities. The agreement ends months of negotiations over data centers. A government shutdown was imminent if lawmakers failed to reach an agreement by the July 1 … Continued
General Assembly to consider comprehensive study on data centers
As the June 30 budget deadline nears, the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate are still unable to agree on tax breaks for data centers. The House Appropriations Committee announced a budget conference proposal on June 12 that doesn’t require data centers to meet environmental standards to be exempted from the state’s 5.3 percent sales … Continued
Board approves land sale for a data center
Despite strong opposition from community members, the Board of Supervisors on March 17 approved a controversial sale of county land to a data center developer. The board agreed to sell 41.7 acres at 3721 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly to the Starwood Capital Group for $166.8 million. The county entered into an agreement with Starwood Capital Group last June … Continued