Plans for 2,000-acre data center in Northern Virginia REJECTED
Plans for the "Dulles Cloud South" 2,000-acre data center project in Prince William County, Virginia, were unanimously rejected by the Board of Supervisors. The rejection followed significant community opposition and would have required rezoning agricultural and residential land. This decision comes shortly after another major data center proposal, the Digital Gateway plan, was also struck down.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors has unanimously rejected the "Dulles Cloud South" data center proposal, a massive 2,000-acre project spanning 43 million square feet of data center floors in Northern Virginia. The proposed complex, located in a residential and agricultural area not far from Manassas Battlefield and stretching up to the Loudoun County border, would have necessitated significant zoning changes.
Community opposition to the project was intense, with almost 100 people attending the board meeting to comment and some rallying beforehand. This decision marks the second major data center plan to be struck down recently, following the rejection of the "Digital Gateway" plan just a week prior, leading some residents to express a feeling of "whiplash." Critics argue that the county is shouldering the "industrial burden" of such developments without receiving adequate economic benefits, particularly regarding increased demands on the power grid.