Some teens in Virginia haven’t lived a day without a data center project under construction, as data centers in the Loudoun area have been under construction without interruption for 16 years.
Here’s what to know
In a video report for The New York Times, Cecilia Kang, the outlet’s technology and regulatory-policy reporter, went to Loudoun County, roughly 30 minutes from Washington, D.C., to examine the trade-offs of living in what the caption calls the “data center capital of the world.”
Two developments from the mid-1990s helped put Loudoun on this path: major fiber infrastructure was built there, and AOL moved in. Kang said county officials then reinforced that advantage with a key zoning choice, treating data centers like office buildings and making them easier to develop as the internet expanded.
One result has been a huge stream of public revenue. Kang said the industry is expected to generate about $1.3 billion in taxes in 2027, and county leaders have repeatedly cut residents’ property taxes because those collections have produced a surplus…