Data Centers

Fredericksburg

AI’s Growing Power Bill: Why Northern Virginia May Face Hundreds of Hours Without Electricity

By Uriah Kiser
Village Place Technology Park in Gainesville, approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2022

MANASSAS, Va. – Northern Virginia could face more than 400 hours of power outages a year by 2030, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy, raising alarms about the region’s ability to keep up with the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and data centers.

The report, released in July, highlights a significant imbalance: while demand from AI infrastructure and data centers is expected to surge by 50 gigawatts nationally, the U.S. is retiring 104 gigawatts of firm generation—like natural gas and coal plants—with only 22 gigawatts of firm replacement power planned. The gap puts pressure on the electric grid and raises the risk of prolonged outages across the country.

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Prince William

Supervisors Approve Third Deferral for Bristow Campus Data Center Proposal

By Potomac Local News

BRISTOW, Va. – The Prince William Board of County Supervisors has approved a third deferral for the Bristow Campus data center proposal, following a last-minute request from the applicant. The decision, made during the board’s June 24 meeting, postpones the vote on the project until September 9, 2025.

The proposed project from Stack Infrastructure seeks to rezone approximately 58 acres along Nokesville Road to accommodate a 540,000-square-foot data center campus. The site lies outside the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District, requiring both a rezoning and a special use permit.

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Stafford

County Slaps Brakes on Timbering Near Proposed Data Center Site

By Potomac Local News

STAFFORD, Va. – A judge has temporarily halted timbering near Courthouse Road, where a developer plans to build a large data center. The emergency injunction comes after neighbors raised alarms and Stafford County filed a legal complaint alleging zoning violations and broken land-use promises.

The order, granted June 9, 2025, targets Augustine South Associates, LLC, linked to the proposed 1,042-acre GWV data center now under consideration for rezoning. The land is zoned A-2 Rural Residential, where commercial tree cutting is prohibited. The county’s complaint also says the work violated “Proffer 9,” a condition meant to preserve trees unless their removal is essential.

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News

Data Center Noise Still Shakes Homes in Great Oak, County Slow to Act

By Potomac Local News
Protesters gathered outside an Amazon data center near Manassas.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Prince William County leaders are facing mounting pressure to address noise generated by data centers, as residents—many from the Great Oak subdivision—delivered passionate testimony during the Board of County Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, June 10.

The board’s discussion centered on a long-delayed draft noise ordinance aimed at controlling the low-frequency hum emitted by industrial cooling systems at massive data facilities, including nearby Amazon Web Services (AWS) sites.

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News

Residents Allege Timbering Violations, Hostile Developer Actions Near Proposed Stafford Data Center Site

By Potomac Local News

STAFFORD, Va. – Residents living near a proposed data center site in Stafford County are raising alarms about logging activity they say violates local zoning laws, environmental protections, and community trust.

The controversy, first reported by FXBG Advance, centers on a parcel of land associated with the GWV data center project, owned by Augustine South Associates, LLC. Residents say the developer began clear-cutting trees on a portion of the 1,042-acre site beginning June 4, 2025—despite zoning that prohibits forestry activity and a proffer mandating tree preservation buffers.

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Stafford

Stafford Residents Demand Action on Data Centers—County Orders Full Review of Rules

By Potomac Local News

STAFFORD, Va. – A surge of public opposition to large-scale data center development dominated the May 20, 2025, Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting, leading county leaders to unanimously order a full review of the rules governing these rapidly expanding facilities.

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Manassas

City Learns Bank Tenant at Manassas Data Center Is Tax-Exempt, Sparking Revenue Concerns

By Potomac Local News

MANASSAS, Va. – City leaders say they were surprised to learn that the first tenant of the newly opened Brickyard Data Center on Godwin Drive won’t contribute to the city’s business personal property tax base as expected.

The data center, operated by Digital Realty Trust, opened earlier this year. Officials had projected millions in tax revenue from computer equipment expected to fill the site. But when tax paperwork arrived on April 14, 2025, city officials learned the first tenant is a bank—an industry that is exempt from paying business personal property taxes under Virginia law.

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Manassas

City Officials Caught Off Guard as Bank Tenant Sidesteps Millions in Data Center Taxes

By Uriah Kiser

MANASSAS, Va. – A bank tenant inside a newly completed data center in Manassas has triggered a sweeping local tax exemption, upending financial expectations and leaving city officials blindsided.

At the April 30, 2025, Manassas City Council meeting, Commissioner of the Revenue Tim Demeria revealed that a tenant inside the new Brickyard data center, operated by Digital Realty Trust, had filed paperwork identifying itself as a bank. Under Virginia Code §58.1-1202, banks are exempt from local Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes and the business personal property taxes that typically bring cities millions in revenue from data centers.

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Breaking News

Crews Respond to Major Gas Leak Outside Manassas at QTS Data Center

By Uriah Kiser

Emergency crews remained on scene late into the evening Monday after a major gas leak was reported at the QTS data center just outside the City of Manassas.

Prince William County Fire and Rescue was dispatched to 9540 Godwin Drive at 2:10 p.m. for reports of a gas leak. As of 9 p.m., units were still actively working the scene.

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Fredericksburg

Will a Data Center Help Close Fredericksburg’s Budget Gap? Officials Say It’s a ‘Long Shot’—For Now

By Uriah Kiser

As Fredericksburg city officials weigh budget cuts, tax increases, and federal funding uncertainties, one possible source of future financial relief came up during a joint City Council and School Board budget work session: a data center under development in Celebrate Virginia South.

Councilman Jon Gerlach (At-Large) asked whether the city could receive advance personal property tax payments from Stack Infrastructure, the company behind the project. The goal: explore whether Fredericksburg could tap into future revenue sooner to help offset current budget pressures.

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