No Data Centers in Fairfax, VA

03/12/2026

‼️UNACCEPTABLE‼️SHAME ON THE FAIRFAX COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS!

"The county entered into an agreement with Starwood Capital Group in June 2025, committing to sell a portion of the property for $4 million per acre and agreed to a confidentiality agreement that prohibited public disclosure of the deal.

Since the county has already locked in the terms of the deal, that effectively limits the impact of community feedback at the public hearing next Tuesday."

Environmental groups urge the Board of Supervisors to provide more information before proceeding with the sale of county land to a data center developer.

03/12/2026

Comprehensive report on the state of data centers in the state of Virginia from 2024.
We simply don't have the infrastructure to power these behemoths, nevermind the environmental impacts!

Site description

03/12/2026

From December, 2024:
"Nearly a third of Virginia’s data centers are located within 200 feet of residential areas, with Fairfax County leading the state, according to a new report released Monday (Dec. 9) by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).

Assessing the impact of data centers throughout Virginia, the JLARC report found that 55% of Fairfax County’s 20 data centers are within 200 feet of residential zones, and 70% are within 500 feet.

In contrast, Loudoun County, home to 71 data centers, the region’s highest concentration, has only 24% of its facilities within 200 feet of residential neighborhoods and 34% within 500 feet. Prince William County, with 24 data centers, reports just 21% within both 200 and 500 feet.

The report attributes the trend of data centers being built close to homes — including single-family houses, townhouses, and apartment complexes — to the decreasing availability of suitable land for development."

Nearly a third of Virginia's data centers are located within 200 feet of residential areas, with Fairfax County leading the state, according to a new report released Monday (Dec. 9) by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). Assessing the impact of data centers throughout...

03/12/2026

: Check out this free website that tracks every data center project in the country and follows the money behind them. If you've ever wondered which politicians are getting PAC money from data center companies while your town fights a rezoning, this is for you.
poweredbywho.com tracks over 2,150 projects across 44 states with an interactive map, developer profiles, and FEC filings showing nearly $10 million in Super PAC spending this cycle alone. Search your state, find your project, see who's funding the politicians pushing it through.
Free, no login, no paywall. If your local project is missing we'll add it.
poweredbywho.com

03/10/2026

Thank you Virginia Senate Democrats! Call to action: Contact your Delgate and tell them to support the repeal of the Data Center tax exemption!

"Virginia Senate Democrats think it’s time to get rid of a tax exemption for data centers and use the money to help the state fund education and public transportation. They passed a budget bill that includes a provision to end the state data center sales & use tax exemption in fiscal year 2027, which is earlier than when it’s scheduled to end in 2035.
Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell told Dogwood on Saturday that the exemption established in 2010 was originally expected to save data centers about $1 million a year. But today, with Virginia home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, the figure is well over $1 billion.

Surovell said with Virginians’ electric bills going up as the proliferation of data centers strains the state’s electric grid, it’s time to make some of the wealthiest companies in the world contribute more. Sunsetting the exemption early would add nearly $1 billion back into Virginia’s budget, according to an analysis by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.
The House of Delegates version of the budget bill keeps the tax exemption in place."

The tax break, created in 2010, was originally expected to save data centers about $1 million a year.

Read more at the link in the comments.

03/08/2026

This is one reason why we need a NOW!

Virginia's winter bill shock is turning data centers into a kitchen-table issue.

Read the full story from ARL Now at the link in the comments.

03/08/2026

There's been some talk of putting the data centers in Space... might not be such a good idea after all...

Two proposals that could permanently change nighttime skies have been fast-tracked before the FCC, with little time for public comments.

03/08/2026

: Important research paper detailing what happens when a data center comes to town. Read it and weep. Link to full report in comments.

"Increased Utility Rates: Data centers increase local electric utility rates by driving up overall energy demand, which can strain grid capacity and force utilities to invest in costly infrastructure
upgrades. These costs are passed on to residents through higher rates. Data centers have also secured long-term power agreements, which reduce the available supply and push prices up for
other consumers.

High Resource Consumption: A single data center can consume up to 2 megawatt hours of power—equivalent to the power used by 2,000 homes—and millions of gallons of water annually for cooling, straining local resources and infrastructure.

Ineffective Tax Incentives: Tax breaks for data centers do not deliver the promised economic benefits, such as high-paying jobs, and they reduce local tax revenues, while shifting financial
burdens onto communities and schools.

Climate and Energy Challenges: Data centers’ massive energy demands are prolonging the operation of fossil fuel plants and undermining state renewable energy goals, as seen in states like Michigan, Virginia, and Nebraska.

Resource Efficiency Trade-Off: While advanced cooling methods like liquid immersion and direct-to-chip cooling offer energy efficiency improvements, current technologies force a tradeoff between energy and water efficiency, limiting sustainable solutions.

03/06/2026

From Clean Virginia:
“Virginia is giving away $1.9 billion dollars in tax breaks to Big Tech’s data centers every year. That’s money that could fund our schools, healthcare and childcare.

Tell decision-makers to end this massive corporate giveaway now: https://taxbigtech.org.”

Virginia’s General Assembly is deciding right now whether to eliminate a $1.9 billion tax break for Big Tech’s data centers. That’s money that could go to healthcare, childcare and education.