Residents urge Virginia to impose a data center moratorium
About 200 people rallied at the Plaza 500 site in the Bren Mar Park community to urge Virginia to impose a moratorium on new data center development. Protesters opposed Starwood Capital’s planned data center complex and an associated Edsall Road substation, citing potential impacts on neighborhoods, water, pollution, noise and electricity costs.
Roughly 200 residents and activists gathered outside the Plaza 500 site in the Bren Mar Park community on Oct. 10 for the first event in a two-week campaign supporting a statewide moratorium on new data centers. Starwood Capital is planning a large, by-right data center complex near residential neighborhoods, while a substation intended to serve the project has not yet been approved and would be located about 67 feet from some homes.
The campaign, organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund and partner groups, calls for protections addressing energy demand, water use, pollution, transparency and community impacts before additional projects are approved. Speakers including Save Bren Mar Coalition founder Tyler Ray, CCAN Virginia director Victoria Higgins, environmental advocates and Alexandria City Council members Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi, Sandy Marks and Canek Aguirre said current approval rules limit public oversight and shift costs and risks onto nearby residents.