Plans are solidifying for another data center facility in the Route 28 corridor just east of Dulles International Airport.
A Fairfax County planner affirmed this month that a proposed data center would be “suitable” for the former Word of Grace Christian Church property at 13832 Redskin Drive in Herndon, and that the facility would be “fully consistent” with local ordinances, according to a letter uploaded to the county’s land use database yesterday (Monday).
A split Fairfax County Planning Commission voted last night (Wednesday) to recommend requiring future electrical substations to be built at least 200 feet away from residential property lines.
The commission narrowly supported a 200-foot setback as one of four options on the table. County staff had recommended 100 feet, while some commissioners proposed 150 or 300 feet.
A new data center is coming online in Chantilly.
Developer Penzance announced yesterday (Thursday) that it recently broke ground and secured $100 million in financing for Chantilly Premier, a three-story data center facility that will occupy approximately 12 acres of land adjacent to the Chantilly Auto Park south of Route 50.
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RICHMOND—Bren Pointe residents in Fairfax County are closer to seeing steel transmission towers rise just outside their townhomes after Virginia’s regulators approved a new electricity line to serve a single planned commercial data center.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
