‘Selling out the county’: Hanover residents rally against large-scale data center proposal

Residents in Hanover County, Virginia, continue to rally against the proposed Mountain Road Tech Park, a large-scale data center campus that would require rezoning 430 acres near Route 33 and Mountain Road in Ashland. Dozens of residents attended a Hanover County Planning Commission meeting on March 19 to express their opposition, following a decision by the commission in February to delay a vote on the project. Residents raised concerns about the potential for fundamental changes to the county's rural character, including impacts on energy demand, traffic, infrastructure, environmental health, and water usage. While developers assert the project aligns with the county's comprehensive plan, many neighbors remain unconvinced, calling for further study into the project's effects on water resources, health, electricity costs, and the rural environment. The Mountain Road Tech Park proposal is slated for reconsideration by the planning commission on April 16.