Residents oppose data center
Residents of Prince Edward County, Virginia, voiced strong opposition to a proposed AVAIO Digital Partners data center project, citing concerns about noise pollution, aesthetics, electrical drain, and health impacts. The county Board of Supervisors is currently evaluating supplemental zoning regulations to address these community concerns, despite having rezoned the land for data centers years prior. No formal site plan has been submitted yet for the project.
Six years ago, Prince Edward County, Virginia, rezoned 280 acres for the Heartland Innovative Technology (HIT) Park and amended its zoning ordinance to allow data centers as a by-right use. More recently, AVAIO Digital Partners announced an agreement with the Prince Edward County Industrial Development Authority to purchase the HIT Park site, planning a $5 billion, five-data center campus in Farmville, with Dominion Energy Virginia providing 300 MW of power.
However, at a recent county Board of Supervisors meeting, nearly a dozen residents expressed strong opposition to Prince Edward's involvement in data center negotiations. Concerns raised included significant noise pollution from cooling fans and generators, electrical strain, aesthetic impacts on the rural landscape, and potential health hazards such as headaches, nausea, and sleep deprivation from low-frequency sounds. Retired physics and engineering professor Chuck Ross and retired educator Jan Tackett were prominent speakers, highlighting the potential negative effects on quality of life, property values, and the well-being of local school children.
County Administrator Doug Stanley confirmed that the county has not yet received a formal site plan or development application for the project. In response to resident concerns, the county is actively evaluating supplemental zoning regulations and examining ordinances from other Virginia localities to identify appropriate performance standards and best management practices for future data center development, covering issues like noise mitigation, buffering, screening, lighting, generator operations, and water usage. The Board acknowledged the community's concerns, indicating an ongoing process of learning and balancing economic development with resident quality of life.