Amazon explains shift in position on future data center developments in Northern Va.
Amazon withdrew plans to build four data centers on its George Washington University campus site in Ashburn after community and government opposition. The company also says it will improve transparency, while Loudoun County considers pausing new data center applications for a year amid concerns about energy, water use, noise and land use.
Amazon has withdrawn its proposal for four data centers at the George Washington University campus in Ashburn and plans to donate the site for a community arts center and indoor sports facility. Shannon Kellogg, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said the decision followed feedback from residents and government partners. Amazon also says it will stop requiring nondisclosure agreements before data center projects become public.
Loudoun County Supervisor Juli Briskman welcomed the change but said it did not go far enough to ensure transparency and attributed the decision partly to organized community opposition. Residents in Loudoun and Prince William counties continue to raise concerns about noise, visual impacts, rising electricity demand, water consumption and the loss of developable land. Loudoun County is poised to consider a one-year pause on new data center applications, while Amazon maintains that its facilities manage water and energy use through a balance of cooling technologies.