Fredericksburg City Council Considers Data Centers

Friends of the Rappahannock and the Rappahannock Group of the Sierra Club will host an educational event on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, focusing on the data center’s impact on the community. The event will occur from 6 to 8 p.m. at 1201 Caroline Street in Fredericksburg.

The event will feature a one-hour presentation delivered by staff members from both organizations. Following the presentation, attendees can participate in a Q&A session to address any inquiries or concerns.

The session aims to provide insights into how data centers affect the local environment and community dynamics. It is open to all public members interested in learning more about this topic.

Regional Proliferation

The planned public meeting will take place after Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine requested city staff to study the feasibility of establishing data centers during a July 9 city council meeting. This proposal aims to explore the potential economic benefits and address concerns related to data center development.

The centers, built in campuses, most of which are multiple football fields in size and more than 70 feet tall, power the Internet. They use large amounts of electricity and water to cool the computer servers. They employ only a handful of people and are mostly stacked with computer servers.

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of data centers in surrounding counties like Prince William and, more recently, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties. Elected officials are drawn to the prospect of data centers in their communities because of the promise of higher tax revenues, with little or no public infrastructure investment. The centers don’t generate traffic due to the few people they employ.

For data center operators like Microsoft, money appears to be no object. They spent nearly half a billion dollars on 124 acres across from the popular outdoor music venue, Jiffy Lube Live. The purchase has multiple Prince William County leaders (where the concert venue sits) asking if the venue will eventually be razed to make way for a data center.

Mayor Devine’s Proposal

Devine introduced the idea of data centers in the city, highlighting the significant investment in neighboring regions’ data centers. “Data centers are all around us at this point,” said Devine. “About 20 million square feet is being planned in Stafford, Spotsy, Caroline, King George, all around us. Billions of dollars will be invested in those data centers in our region.”

Economic Benefits

The mayor noted that these investments could bring substantial economic benefits, including lower tax rates and increased economic development. “Millions of dollars flowing into those communities can significantly impact and lower their tax rates. It will add very much to their economic development prospects,” Devine added.

Water Usage Concerns

One of the key concerns mentioned was the water usage of data centers. Devine addressed this by pointing to Stafford’s recent developments using water reuse and recirculation processes, which mitigate water use concerns. “Many of us were able to see that some of the ones that we looked at were developed with water recirculation, which lowers the concern about water use if it’s recirculated water,” Devine explained.

Potential Site for Development

Devine proposed Celebrate Virginia South, near the Fredericksburg Nationals stadium and Rappahannock River, as a potential site for data center development, noting that it includes about 300 acres of economic development opportunities. “If with further study from staff and recommendations, if it gets to where we develop a data center, that could significantly add to the city’s revenue and potentially lower the residential tax burden over time,” she said.

Council Members’ Support

Several council members expressed support for the mayor’s request. Council member Timothy Duffy agreed, emphasizing the need to diversify revenue streams. “I think it’s incumbent on all of us to find ways to diversify our revenue streams and not rely so heavily on property taxes. So I’m all in favor of your request and support it,” Duffy said.

Council member Jonathan Gerlach echoed this sentiment, stating, “I’ve been advocating that we find other sources of revenue for the city to relieve the burden on our taxpayers. If there is a way to bring a data center to Celebrate South in an environmentally responsible manner, I would be all in favor of it.”

Vice Mayor Charlie Frye also voiced support, mentioning the importance of exploring revenue opportunities to fund city services. “If there’s another opportunity to bring some revenue to the city, I say we go for it,” Frye stated. He also suggested informing the public about the land requirements for data centers in future meetings.

Council member Will Mackintosh believes data centers will produce many jobs. “Data centers produce many fairly highly trained and well-paid jobs. I think we should not overlook data centers as a potential employment generator in our city,” Mackintosh said. He emphasized the importance of aligning city school programs with the skills needed for these jobs.

Mayor Devine concluded the discussion by stressing the preliminary nature of the study and the need for further staff research. “Again, this is looking at this very preliminary to ask staff to study it, and they’ll come back to us with a report,” she said.

The council unanimously approved the proposal, directing city staff to proceed with the study and report their findings.