The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations is backing neighbors in their fight against the planned Plaza 500 data center campus and its associated electrical substation in Lincolnia.
The federation voted at its membership meeting last Thursday (Aug. 27) to oppose the 34-acre data center campus at 6295 and 6299 Edsall Road proposed by Starwood Capital Group and a substation proposed by Dominion Energy.
Politicians are scrambling nationally to address growing public concern over data centers, and in Northern Virginia, where many local elected leaders will be on the ballot in 2027, the issue is proving a delicate balancing act.
Fairfax County residents expect “fair rules of engagement” when it comes to addressing the impacts of data centers, Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said at the 11th annual Northern Virginia Regional Elected Leaders Summit, held on Wednesday (Aug. 26) in Arlington.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has formally filed to intervene in the proposed merger of Dominion Energy with Florida-based NextEra Energy.
The $67 billion merger proposal is under review by Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC). According to her office, Spanberger is the first governor in Virginia history to intervene in an SCC case. Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond, the first person appointed to Spanberger’s new cabinet position, also filed to be a party in the case.
The county supervisor who represents the Lincolnia area where data center development is being planned has shared opposition to the proposed electrical substation associated with the project.
Supervisor Andres Jimenez (D-Mason) called on the Fairfax County Planning Commission to reject the Edsall Road substation and related transmission infrastructure at Plaza 500. The substation was proposed by Dominion Energy to meet the data center load from planned data centers.
A data center operator with multiple locations in Northern Virginia is establishing company headquarters in Reston.
Reston Station developer Comstock Companies announced that QTS Data Centers signed a lease at 1800 Reston Row Plaza in Reston Station. The data center operator will occupy 77,000 square feet in the building’s entire 11th, 12th and 13th floors.
An earlier version of this story referred to the State Corporation Commission approving a substation, but the SCC approval only incorporates transmission lines.
As plans for the first phase of data centers have been submitted in Lincolnia just outside Alexandria city limits, residents are focusing opposition on an electric substation under review.
By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, has released a long-delayed study that examined the state’s eastern region groundwater supply and the resource-hungry industry’s possible impact on it, finding declines are likely in a critical aquifer due to population growth and industrial use, and urging stricter regulations.
Optimism among Northern Virginia business leaders is improving, although some expressed worries about taxes and the state’s approval of a paid family and medical leave program.
That’s according to the second-quarter 2026 Business Leader Survey released last week by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and public relations firm Pinkston, revealing the sentiments of the region’s CEOs, senior executives and business owners.
Plans to grow Northern Virginia’s economy are showing progress, but rising housing costs and infrastructure demands could threaten the region’s long-term competitiveness, a new report says.
Released earlier this week by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (NVC), the 2026 NOVA Roadmap Progress Report assessed the region’s economic strengths and challenges.
An office complex in Tysons that currently hosts some data centers could become exclusively devoted to processing digital data, if its current owner secures Fairfax County’s approval.
Serverfarm, a California-based operator that appears to be making its first foray into the D.C. region, applied earlier this year for a special exception that would allow it to replace the existing, “groaning” office buildings at 7990 and 7980 Quantum Drive with a “completely modernized” data center.
