- Opposition to new data centers has grown stronger in the largest global hub, Northern Virginia
- Both residents and county officials are stepping in to push back on new builds
- Developers are already looking elsewhere, but the resistance could follow them
Is Northern Virginia closing the door on data centers? It certainly feels that way, with local officials and residents increasingly pushing back on new builds.
The area – which includes Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William and Fauquier Counties – has long been known as the data center capital of the world, with well over 300 data centers. As Synergy Research Group noted, Northern Virginia alone is home to more than 13% of global hyperscale data center capacity and 7% of the global colocation market.
Loudoun in particular became a hub for data center development after county officials in 2008 came up with a plan to diversify the tax base and began encouraging investments from technology companies.
Turning tide
But that’s starting to change. Until this year, data center developers enjoyed “by-right use” of land in certain zoning districts in Loudoun, meaning projects did not require review by the county’s Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors. In March, however, county officials voted to remove by-right development and require new projects to seek a special exception to move forward…