data centers | FFXnow

Dominion substations approved to support Dulles-area data centers

Published July 16, 2025 at 3:45PM

Site of proposed Park Center Road power substation (via Dominion Energy)

Despite objections to one of the projects from nearby residents, the Fairfax County Planning Commission at its July 9 meeting approved Dominion Energy’s requests for two new electrical substations to support future data centers in the Dulles area.

A 300-megawatt Towerview substation will be wedged between Sully Road (Route 28) and Park Center Road in the Floris neighborhood, just east of Dulles International Airport. Dominion will lease the site from the owner of the Dulles Gateway data center, which is being constructed immediately to its south.

News

CoreSite moves to expand Reston data centers, alarming some residents

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 2, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated February 23, 2026 at 7:58PM

CoreSite's Reston data center campus (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Data center provider CoreSite is powering up the next phase of its planned expansion in Reston.

Fairfax County staff are currently reviewing a site plan for a three-story data center facility that would replace a one-story, vacant office building on the company’s 21.7-acre campus at 12369 Sunrise Valley Drive, just east of Fairfax County Parkway.

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Gov. Youngkin rejects bipartisan data center reform measure

By James Jarvis / Inside NoVA

Published April 8, 2025 at 11:15AM | Updated April 10, 2025 at 9:52AM

Cords plugged into a computer data server (Photo via Jordan Harrison/Unsplash)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has delayed – if not outright killed – implementation of a bipartisan bill that requires data center developers to disclose noise and environmental impacts before receiving local approval.

Following Youngkin’s amendment [last] week, the requirement won’t go into effect until 2026 at the earliest.

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Fairfax County board cautious on conversion of industrial land to housing

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 13, 2025 at 2:30PM

A warehouse with trucks in the Westfields area of Chantilly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Land currently zoned for industrial use across Fairfax County could be converted to residential zoning in an effort to bring more housing stock to the county.

As part of a larger “Plan Forward” initiative started in 2022, Department of Planning and Development (DPD) staff have proposed amending the county’s comprehensive plan to allow more flexibility for industrial land to turn into residential development, while also retaining some designated industrial areas.

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Fairfax County explores tighter rules for substations as energy demand grows

By James Jarvis

Published January 29, 2025 at 3:45PM

138 Kv power lines connected to Reston substation (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County is proposing new zoning regulations for utility substations that could limit where they can be built and impose stricter standards on projects near residential neighborhoods.

The draft amendments, discussed at a Board of Supervisors Land Use Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 28), aim to address community concerns about the noise and industrial appearance of substations, while accommodating the region’s growing energy needs, zoning administrative staff said.

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Fairfax environmental council worried about data centers’ impact on local water supply

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 6, 2025 at 11:45AM

A person fills a glass with tap water (photo by Eric Vance/U.S. EPA)

Northern Virginia’s wary embrace of data centers could have major long-term impacts on both water consumption and wastewater treatment across the region, the Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) says in its annual report for 2024.

The 134-page document offers a status update and recommendations on environmental issues, including land use, air and water quality, transportation, waste management, climate change and ecological conservation.

Countywide

Report: Fairfax County leads state in data centers near residential neighborhoods

By James Jarvis

Published December 11, 2024 at 1:15PM | Updated December 11, 2024 at 1:46PM

CoreSite's Reston data center campus (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Nearly a third of Virginia’s data centers are located within 200 feet of residential areas, with Fairfax County leading the state, according to a new report released Monday (Dec. 9) by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).

Assessing the impact of data centers throughout Virginia, the JLARC report found that 55% of Fairfax County’s 20 data centers are within 200 feet of residential zones, and 70% are within 500 feet.

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Fairfax leaders to push General Assembly for stricter data center rules

By James Jarvis

Published November 1, 2024 at 9:45AM

Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County supervisors will advocate for data center regulation to be a primary focus of the General Assembly’s 2025 legislative agenda.

Board members expressed support this week for several new recommendations from county staff aimed at granting state agencies and local governments broader authority to regulate data centers, including increased oversight of their environmental impacts.

News

Report: Amazon to run planned data centers in Herndon area

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 27, 2024 at 3:00PM

A site plan for Renaissance Technology Park's planned redevelopment as a data center campus (via Fairfax County)

Amazon is looking to add an industrial park near Dulles International Airport to its network of Northern Virginia data centers.

Amazon Data Services has applied for air pollution control permits from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to allow data center facilities at 13860 and 13876 Redskin Drive in Renaissance Technology Park, a warehouse complex just east of Route 28 in the Floris area of Herndon.

Countywide

Fairfax County board approves new data center regulations, promise further review

By James Jarvis

Published September 11, 2024 at 10:20AM | Updated September 11, 2024 at 10:53AM

Attendees of the Fairfax County Planning Commission's June 5 public hearing call for stricter rules on data centers (staff photo by James Jarvis)

After a lengthy and contentious debate, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved a revised zoning ordinance that imposes strict regulations on data center development in the county.

Yesterday’s 8-2 vote followed over a year of community input and revisions to the proposed ordinance, which tightens restrictions on where and how data centers can be built in Fairfax County.