Gainesville residents seek 12-month data center pause
Gainesville residents and grassroots organizations rallied outside an NTT data center campus to request a 12-month pause on discretionary data center applications in Prince William County. They cited noise, lighting, diesel generators, electricity demand, infrastructure impacts and inadequate development rules, while the county has not yet scheduled the proposed pause for a vote.
Residents and grassroots groups held a press conference outside NTT's data center campus in Gainesville, urging the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to defer data center applications requiring its approval for 12 months. Organizers said the pause would allow the county to strengthen setbacks, buffers, noise standards, lighting rules and other protections, and they promoted a petition supporting both a local pause and a statewide moratorium.
Speakers cited noise, diesel generators, power demand, rising electricity costs and the proximity of data center infrastructure to homes, schools and the Occoquan Reservoir Protective Area. The county has not indicated that it has scheduled the requested pause, although the board recently voted to end most by-right data center approvals subject to a 90-day grace period. The event also referenced Dominion Energy's lawsuit over the county's denial of a Vint Hill gas-insulated substation.