A data center developer has officially requested a special exception from Fairfax County to build a 312,000-square-foot data center on the corner of Stonecroft Blvd and Lee Road in Chantilly.
The application from T5 Data Centers, submitted in mid-September, provides greater insight into plans for what it calls “Project Charlie” — which could become the first fuel cell-powered data center in the county.
Fuel cell technology converts natural gas into electricity to help lessen the strain on the power grid. Among other issues, the amount of power required for data centers, which have been expanding their footprint in Northern Virginia for years, has led to closer scrutiny of the industry by state and local lawmakers.
Earlier this month, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik announced that a proposal to expand a data center in Tysons is on hold after she and community members raised concerns about its proximity to homes, the location of planned power generators, and environmental impacts.
“Electrical power for the data center will be provided through three sources. Natural gas fuel cells will supply the facility’s base load and provide approximately 48 MW of electricity,” says a statement of justification signed by Allison Reynolds, a land use attorney with the law firm Walsh, Colucci, Lubley & Walsh who’s representing T5 Data Centers.
“Natural gas for the fuel cells will be provided by Washington Gas,” the statement says. “A gas line extension is expected to connect to the Subject Property through a pipeline within the Stonecroft Boulevard rights-of-way … Remaining electricity needs of up to 27 [megawatts] will be fulfilled by the power grid and supplied by Dominion Energy.”
According to the application, the fuel cells produce “significantly lower localized air pollution,” because they use a closed-circuit reaction to produce energy instead of combustion. Using fuel cells also reduces emissions and is “nearly net neutral in water utilization.”
Because of the fuel cell technology, an on-site substation will not be needed, though back-up generators will be available for use during emergencies.
“Because the fuel cells, which serve this facility alone, provide base load power rather than the grid, the Applicant anticipates significantly less reliance on emergency generators than with a typical data center of similar size,” the statement says.
About 30,000 square feet of the 312,000-square-foot building will be used for accessory office space. Because the proposed building, located in an area classified for light industrial use, exceeds 80,000 square feet, county approval of a special exception is necessary.
T5 also submitted a noise study that concluded the highest nighttime ambient noise level in the area was 33 A-weighted decibels (dBA), excluding when insects drove it to higher levels.
The noise study suggests a “voluntary criteria—more stringent than the local noise code—of 45dBA at any residential property lines,” given that it’s advisable for new developments to limit impact to “either 45dBA or the existing ambient +10dBA measured outdoors at residential receptors sites, whichever is higher.”
“Project Charlie” isn’t the only potential data center planned for Stonecroft Blvd.
Three miles down the road, Fairfax County sold 41.7 acres of land that were previously part of a police training facility to a developer earlier this spring. The sale of 3721 Stonecroft Blvd was approved by county supervisors on a 9-0 vote, though the sale doesn’t guarantee approval of the zoning actions that would be required to develop a data center.
