Opinion

In recent years, residents of Prince William County have likely heard me promote the financial benefits data centers bring to our county. The tax revenue they generate and will continue to contribute for years to come is essential to our ability to boost funding for schools, social services and other county priorities while decreasing the tax burden on county homeowners.

What often goes unheralded, however, are the many ways data centers and their employees contribute to and strengthen our community. In 2022 alone, those contributions have had a tremendous impact.


Prince William

After hearing objections and complaints from scores of citizens and environmental watchdogs, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has modified a proposed change to state rules that would allow data centers to run their generators as needed when the electric grid is strained.

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Business

The Prince William Chamber of Commerce is on the record supporting the temporary use of diesel generators at data centers in Northern Virginia. 

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Opinion

On September 22, 2022 that Sustainability Commission unanimously passed resolution #22-007 which recommended several “fast-track” measures to put the county on a trajectory to achieve those goals.

Among their recommendations were: “Prohibit the building of new backup power generation using diesel and/or petroleum in favor of less carbon-intensive generation and encourage the conversion of existing diesel and/or petroleum backup systems to less carbon-intensive generation.”


News

Data center developers are turning their attention to Stafford County.

Now county leaders have called a joint session of the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission to discuss server farms that power the internet and where in the county they could be built.


News

The next phase in the conservationists’ battle against the proliferation of data centers in Northern Virginia has taken to the skies.

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Opinion

While I applaud your latest opinion piece about data centers, there was one aspect of it that I take issue with:

“We hear former Deputy County Executive Rebecca Horner has been sent back to the county planning department after several recent departures we told you about last week. She’s familiar with the planning office — she ran the place until she was promoted to deputy county executive in 2020. She may right the ship and create a plan because she’s one of the few people still around with institutional knowledge.”


News

Call it a canary in the coal mine. Call it the result of years of residents pleading for their local leaders to hear them. Call it a referendum on data centers.

Whatever you call it, the landslide election of Bob Weir to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors with more than 60% of the vote should serve as a wake-up call to those in power in not only Prince William County but those who see data centers as a cash cow for their respective jurisdictions.


Business

Virginia officials are concerned there may not be enough electricity to go around and power Northern Virginia’s data centers under extreme conditions.

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Business

There are two major developments in two land-use cases in Prince William County today, both involving Stanley Martin Homes.

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