STERLING, Va. — For nine years, Lindsay Shaw enjoyed the quiet of her suburban neighborhood. Now, the cybersecurity professional says she and her neighbors are unable to avoid a 24-hour whistle that has turned their homes far from tranquil.
The source of the sound is a Vantage data center complex on Glenn Drive in Sterling, the first in Loudoun County to bypass the traditional power grid by generating its own electricity. Using eight natural gas turbines running around the clock, the facility is a local example of a national conversation: tech companies producing their own energy to reduce costs and grid dependency.
But for those living in the Trailside Homeowners Association, the innovation has come at a debilitating physical and emotional cost…