Opponents of data centers will hold a protest outside the Prince Wiliam County Government Center.
Drivers on Prince William Parkway should see the protesters at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 13, at the county government center, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge.
The protest comes as the Board of County Supervisors will vote on a proposal to rezone nearly 300 acres for a new data center, the Devil Technology Park, on three plots of land along Devlin Road near Gainesville.
On Wednesday, the county’s Planning Commission is expected to vote on the Prince William Digital Gateway, the county’s largest data center project in history, which seeks to rezone more than 2,100 acres near the Manassas National Battlefield Park. The proposed area is 15 times larger than Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge by comparison.
After the Planning Commission vote, the Board of County Supervisors will review the project and must decide to approve the rezoning. Residents along Pageland Lane, including Prince William County Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland (R), have agreed to sell their homes for millions, clearing the way for data centers.
Candland has recused himself from voting on data-center projects. Meanwhile, Board Chair-At large Ann Wheeler (D) is under fire for not disclosing her ownership of multiple data center stocks, including Blackstone Group, the parent of QTS. This firm aims to build on 800 acres at the Digital Gateway.
Critics pointed out that Wheeler’s 2021 financial disclosure revealed a 300% increase in purchased stock in nine data center firms compared to when she took office in January 2020. Since then, Wheeler has also voted to set the tax rates data centers pay.
Last year, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors ordered a study of its Data Center Overlay District, an area close to power and water where land planners say data centers should be built.
“Whether it’s PW Digital Gateway’s rural industrialization, or Devlin Technology Park plopping ‘backyard data centers’ near families and children, Wheeler has prioritized changes threatening the whole county and beyond. That’s why groups ranging from the Sierra Club and National Parks Conservation Association to the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Prince William Conservation Alliance have had to say, ‘We understand the 21st century need for data centers, but these specific changes are wrong.’ Wheeler has chosen to sideline and silence these groups, as well as individual citizens,” said Coalition to Protect Prince William County Director Elena Schlossberg.
Prince William County is rivaling its neighbor, Loudoun County, as more data centers continue to build in the area. Proponents of the Prince William Digital Gateway say the project will bring more tax revenue and jobs to the region.
Data centers are server farms that power the internet, typically two-to-three-story warehouse-type buildings. Data center firms like Amazon, QTS, and Iron Mountain have recently built server farms outside Manassas, Haymarket, and Gainesville due to cheaper land costs, access to fiber data lines, and water.
On Saturday, September 10, over 100 Prince William County residents demonstrated against proposed data centers that will threaten their health and well-being in Bristow.
These projects threaten, in particular, the neighborhoods of Amberleigh Station and Silver Leaf. Speakers included Dr. Steve Pleickhardt, President of the Amberleigh Station HOA, Kevin Allen, President of the Silver Leaf HOA, Liz Hernandez, Vice President of the Great Oak HOA, John Lyver, a NASA scientist who serves as technical advisor to the HOA Roundtable, and Bill Wright from the HOA Roundtable.
Demonstrators signed a petition to recall County Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler.
