Data Centers and Albemarle County

I don’t know as much as I should about data centers, but I’m learning, as we all should. This is the sort of thing for which I’d advocate for you/us to not accept this as inevitable. See this from Louisa for example on July 24, 2025 – Amazon Web Services withdraws request to build data center campus north of reservoir.

There is a lot to learn.

Targeting overlay districts at Pantops, the airport/North Fork, Emerson/Rivanna Futures, and the I-64/29 interchange, massive data centers could be built less than a football field away from homes in both neighborhoods and the countryside. Data centers of 500K ft sq (almost 11.5 acres) could be built by right and larger by special permit if Albemarle County’s draft ordinance on data centers is adopted.

Erin Rothman sent me this: (bolding mine)

The county is soliciting feedback through 6PM on July 27 on their proposal to allow data centers by right of up to 500K feet (and larger by special permit) and related ordinance changes. Currently data centers up to 40K feet are allowed, which is the size of the Crozet Harris Teeter.

The proposal and link to the feedback form can be found here. Please note that the overlay districts are not depicted in the proposal. You have to look at the Data Center Presentation from the July 1 community meeting materials to see them. Direct links are here:

• Emerson/Rivanna Futures 
• Airport/North Fork 
• Pantops 
• I-64/29 
  
  Given the risks and environmental impacts associated with data centers, they seem wholly incompatible with the county’s Climate Action Plan adopted in 2020.

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From the County’s Engage Albemarle newsletter

Help Shape Data Centers Regulations for Our Community

Albemarle County is reviewing and updating its zoning regulations for data centers – large buildings that store and process digital information for services like email, websites, and cloud storage. As demand for data centers grows across Virginia, the County is taking a proactive approach to plan for this type of development in a way that reflects community values and minimizes potential impacts.

The County is evaluating where larger data centers could be allowed by-right, but only on properties that already have key infrastructure in place and meet specific criteria. This approach would be paired with new performance standards focused on location, design, environmental protection, and compatibility with surrounding areas. The goal is to provide clear, consistent regulations that support thoughtful development while protecting what matters to our community.

Why it Matters

Data centers can have both economic benefits and community impacts. They may generate commercial tax revenue and support public services, but they also raise questions about energy use, water, noise, and visual compatibility. This review is your chance to weigh in on how data centers should be regulated in Albemarle County.

Get Involved

A first draft of the proposed zoning ordinance is now available for public review.

Visit the Project Page to Learn More & Share Feedback

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But … Jobs?

From Tammy Purcell’s Engage Louisa

(bolding mine)

Most notably, the applicant highlights the economic benefits of data center development, pointing to a 2022 study from Mangum Economics, which estimated that 250,000 square feet of data centers would generate between $4 and $5 million in gross local tax revenue annually and directly create 30 jobs. The study isn’t included in the application, however, and it’s unclear if its revenue projections are based on assumptions specific to Louisa County.

And this, from 2015: “the number of jobs at a typical data center can be anywhere between five and 30.”

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Related stories

• A Drinking Problem – “Beverly and Jeff Morris found a novel way to quit drinking. One day they turned on the water tap in their kitchen and nothing came out. It has something to do with their new neighbor in Newton County, Georgia. The couple drew water from a residential well until Meta broke ground on a new $750 million data center.”
  • Their Water Taps Ran Dry When Meta Built Next Door
• Residents ramp up opposition to proposed AWS data center campus – “Opponents of Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) plan to build another sprawling data center campus in central Louisa County are ramping up their efforts to stop the project, from speaking out at county meetings and circulating an online petition to distributing signs and designing bumper stickers.
  • If approved by the board of supervisors, the campus would be the tech giant’s third in the county’s Technology Overlay District, a special zoning designation approved by supervisors two years ago with an eye toward attracting lucrative tech sector development. EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure also plans to build a data center campus in Louisa, acquiring the 697-acre Shannon Hill Regional Business Park last month.
  • *Tammy Purcell at Engage Louisa is doing exceptional local journalism and has earned deserved paid support. No one else that I have seen is doing the work or coverage that she is.
• ‘How come I can’t breathe?’: Musk’s data company draws a backlash in Memphis – ” (The) artificial intelligence company is belching smog-forming pollution into an area of South Memphis that already leads the state in emergency department visits for asthma. None of the 35 methane gas turbines that help power xAI’s massive supercomputer is equipped with pollution controls typically required by federal rules.”
• Data Centers in Virginia 2024 Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia (PDF) “includes a ton of stuff but I was especially interested in the noise and energy impacts”