QTS has withdrawn its final appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court, effectively terminating the proposed Prince William Digital Gateway data center campus along Pageland Lane near Manassas National Battlefield Park.
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Data Centers
Chair Deshundra Jefferson, At-large, Prince William Board of County Supervisors, advanced a directive during the June 23 Board of Supervisors meeting calling for development of a comprehensive data center decommissioning policy framework amid ongoing concerns about long-term infrastructure impacts.
The directive instructs the county executive and staff to create guidelines addressing planning, environmental protection, infrastructure removal and recycling or disposal, security, workforce impacts, and site redevelopment. It builds on prior board actions, including Resolutions 21-327 and 23-111, which initiated amendments to the zoning ordinance and the Design and Construction Standards Manual related to data centers. Staff work should draw from the 2040 Comprehensive Plan’s environmental chapter, the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, and the Community Energy and Sustainability Master Plan, with recommendations on timelines, fiscal impacts, and other considerations for board review. The county attorney’s office will examine legal issues.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday deferred action on a special use permit for the proposed Vint Hill Switching Station, in response to resident concerns and requests for more information about the technology and broader infrastructure impacts.
The project involves replacing an existing switching station (online since 2018) on an approximately 23-acre A-1-zoned site within a 1960s-era transmission corridor. The new gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) facility would be co-located with a NOVEC substation and a Reed Energy battery storage facility. It aims to meet North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards projected as early as 2027 due to substantial load growth, largely from data centers and other developments in the Gainesville and Manassas areas.
Lynn Forkell Greene, a former Manassas City Council member and candidate in the November 2026 election, raised pointed concerns about data centers and infrastructure strain during public comment at the Manassas City Council meeting on June 22, directly linking the issues to recent power outages and broader regional pressures.
Greene told council members she is “not against data centers, but I am against the amount of data centers we have and passing those costs on to the residents.” She highlighted demands for water, electricity, and land, questioned the expiration of tax exemptions, and called for stronger collaboration between local officials and state legislators to develop a coordinated response. She urged a localized plan rather than simply asking residents to cut usage amid ongoing grid and substation frustrations.
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“The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 62% of voters say local governments should be cautious about new data centers while 24% think they should encourage them because they create jobs, tax revenue and support America’s digital economy,” The Center Square reported. The national survey of 2,585 registered voters, conducted June 1-4 by Noble Predictive Insights, showed similar views across party lines, age groups and regions, with a margin of error of +/- 1.93%.
In Northern Virginia, where data centers have rapidly expanded in areas like Prince William, Loudoun and Stafford counties, the results highlight ongoing local debates over electricity demands, water usage, land impacts and rising utility costs for residents.
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“Virginia Senate leaders unveiled a budget proposal Tuesday that would raise an estimated $1.7 billion over two years through a new fee on data center generators,” The Center Square reported. The tiered impact fee on new generators would start Jan. 1 as part of unresolved budget negotiations with the House and Gov. Abigail Spanberger due by June 30.
The plan offers an alternative to phasing out sales tax exemptions for data centers, a key issue for Northern Virginia localities like Prince William and Stafford facing rapid industry growth and related infrastructure demands.
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“The proposed zoning text amendment simply will restrict any further by-right development of data centers in Prince William County,” InsideNoVa reported. “That means any and all new data center projects will have to be approved or disapproved by the board.”
“As I said last year when I gave my directive to begin retiring the Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District, the overlay has created a situation where data center projects are authorized to build by right, bypassing review by the county’s Planning Department, Planning Commission, and even the Board of Supervisors,” Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye told InsideNoVa.