Prince William supervisors kill plan for massive 2,000-acre data center | NBC4 Washington
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to reject the rezoning application for the proposed 2,000-acre Dulles South Innovation Center data center project. This decision follows a recent court ruling that blocked another massive data center development in the county. The vote prevents the rezoning of agricultural land to industrial, which would have been the first step toward the data center's construction.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors has unanimously voted against moving forward with the proposed Dulles South Innovation Center, which would have been a 2,000-acre data center campus, making it potentially the largest in the world. The decision was made during a contentious meeting where citizens voiced both opposition and support for the project. The proposed development was located in rural Prince William County, just south of Dulles Airport.
The Board's vote specifically denied the rezoning of agricultural land to industrial, which was a crucial first step for the developer to submit a future data center application. News4's Juliana Valencia reported live from Woodbridge that this marks the second major data center development in Prince William County to be halted within a week, as courts recently ruled another large data center project in the county could not be built.
While developers reportedly offered significant sums for land, resident Josiah Hunter stated his contract was for much higher than market value, though not the highest figures cited in Northern Virginia. He emphasized the county's proximity to Dulles Airport, which handles a significant portion of global internet traffic, makes it an ideal location for data centers. The decision is anticipated to be the beginning of a prolonged conflict between residents and "big tech" aiming to convert farmland into AI infrastructure.