Fairfax County civic group votes to oppose Plaza 500 data center, substation
The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations voted to oppose the proposed Plaza 500 data center campus and an associated electrical substation in Lincolnia, citing proximity to residences, environmental concerns, and industrial appearance. While the data center is allowed by right, the substation faces an upcoming public facilities review by the Fairfax County Planning Commission. Multiple elected officials have also voiced opposition to the project and its related infrastructure.
The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations has formally backed local residents in their opposition to the planned Plaza 500 data center campus and its associated electrical substation in Lincolnia, Virginia. During a membership meeting, the federation voted to oppose the 34-acre data center, proposed by Starwood Capital Group, and a substation proposed by Dominion Energy, citing concerns about its proximity to residential properties, a resource protection area, and the economic and environmental impacts of data centers.
While the Plaza 500 data center is permitted by right under existing county zoning rules, the proposed electric substation on Edsall Road requires a public facilities 2232 review by the Fairfax County Planning Commission, scheduled for December 2. This hearing was previously delayed at Dominion Energy's request for further research. The State Corporation Commission has already approved nearly a mile of new transmission lines connecting the proposed substation to an existing one.
Tyler Ray, founder of the Save Bren Mar coalition, highlighted the substation's massive scale, capable of powering 176 megawatts for the data center, enough for over 40,000 homes. He argued that the project's heavy industrialization is incompatible with the area's past, current, and future character. Despite the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopting stricter zoning rules for data centers in 2024, these new standards exempted pending applications like Plaza 500. However, the coalition believes public and political opposition is growing, with several elected officials, including Rep. Don Beyer and Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins, having voiced objections.
Beyond the specific project, the federation also passed a resolution requesting the Virginia General Assembly accelerate the sunset date of the data center sales tax exemption from 2035 to 2028, although the latest state budget maintained the exemption while adding a new electricity consumption tax for data centers.