This text was taken from an email alert sent out on June 19, 2026. Sign up for email alerts →
It was great seeing so many of you at PEC’s Annual Gathering at Longwood Farm. We hope you enjoyed the fantastic weather and celebrating all that we have accomplished together across the Virginia Piedmont. The event was truly a harkening back to what brought me to Virginia originally: horses, history and conservation.
Just one day after the Annual Gathering, a full 760 of Longwood Farm’s 774 total acres was forever protected through a conservation easement; truly something to celebrate.
Read our Annual Gathering recap and view photos and video recordings from the day →
Right now, Fauquier County is seeing a flurry of long-term development proposals. PEC is listening and working on your behalf to push for the best possible outcomes. It’s also important that you engage in the process early on to ensure that our community’s priorities are reflected in the final outcomes.
We are currently focused on several such developments, including Dominion’s purchase of land next to its Morrisville substation, the latest change to Remington Tech Park’s onsite natural gas power plant, a new gas line proposed in the Catlett area, and the revived Gigaland (now Remington Digital) data center application that will come before the Planning Commission next month.
Dominion is Planning Changes to Morrisville Substation
We recently learned that Dominion Energy bought 85 acres of land next to its Morrisville substation property. This purchase signals plans to expand the existing substation or even add a second substation.
After the Fauquier County Planning Commission recommended denial, Dominion withdrew its proposal to expand the existing substation last October. Shortly after that, Dominion filed a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) letter with the State Corporation Commission (SCC), apparently seeking to ignore the lack of local approval and move forward with the expansion and come back for it later, placing more pressure on the County.
In related news, the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors will be a respondent in the SCC case to review Dominion’s proposed Morrisville-Wishing Star transmission line, which would stretch across Fauquier, Prince William and Loudoun counties with a new 500-kilovolt (kV) line, plus a 250 kV line in Fauquier. The Board also reiterated its “Opposition of Yeat Substation in Fauquier County” in a letter to PJM Interconnection, LLC on June 11.
Impacts From the Proposed Joshua Falls-Yeat Transmission Line Project
PEC has been pushing back on Valley Link’s proposed 750kv Joshua Falls-Yeat line, the highest-voltage transmission line ever proposed in Dominion Energy’s territory. If approved, the line would extend 115 miles, carving through as many as nine Virginia Piedmont counties to deliver power to Dominion Energy’s growing queue of data centers. To fight this destructive project, we’ve been attending meetings, sharing information, alerting residents and identifying and mapping impacts. Read more →
Potential Impacts to Fauquier:
1. The Yeat substation, originally proposed to be built in Fauquier, is now proposed to be built in Culpeper County, but the location is not final.
2. The Joshua Falls-Yeat line may stop in Culpeper, but the need for power is to the north and east. Our concern remains: How will the power move from Culpeper to Morrisville and beyond, potentially to Remington, through the Bristers/Anderson Branch substation and/or into Prince William County? Because this additional route has not been proposed, we will be closely following all future changes.
Remington Tech Park’s New Power Plan
PointOne, the developer of the Remington Tech Park data center, submitted new plans for onsite power production. Rather than natural gas turbines, it is now proposing to use natural gas fuel cells to permanently supplement the power provided by Dominion.
While this appears to be a step in the right direction because this form of energy generation produces less noise and air pollution than natural gas turbines, we remain concerned that this option still relies on the use of fossil fuels. In addition, there is no fuel cell power production plant of this size anywhere in the U.S., let alone Virginia.
Fauquier County is unequipped for the potential issues with fuel cell use, whether as part of a data center project or otherwise. No policies or ordinances exist to guide county leaders on such a decision. Moreover, there are no regulations on their operation and no safety protocols or emergency management plans in place for their ongoing administration and enforcement.
Therefore, we are very concerned that, if this power plant proposal were to be approved in its present state, the county does not know what lies ahead and would not be prepared to deal with issues that could arise.
The Board of Supervisors could hear this application as soon as July 9. We’ll be following up soon with more information and recommendations.
New Gas Pipeline Proposed in Catlett
A new gas line known as the Power Express Expansion Project – Quantico Lateral near Cedar Run in the Catlett area is in the very early design phase. A final route has not been chosen. However, residents within the study corridor have received letters from Williams Co., the gas pipeline company, requesting permission to conduct land surveys and offering landowners $500 to allow survey teams access to their property.
Gas lines are not new to Fauquier; inter- and intrastate gas lines exist here already. And the contractor does not need permission from the county to do this work. However, depending on the final location, this line could have serious environmental implications.
PEC is working to construct a map of the proposed route based on landowner input. In addition, Protect Catlett, a group formed to defeat the proposed Catlett data center, has been meeting to discuss the gas line project, understand its scope and keep property owners informed.
County officials are aware of the project, but have yet to receive official notification from Williams Co. If you’d like to participate in the effort to advocate against this project or receive more information, please email me at [email protected]. You can also find Protect Catlett on Facebook.
Gigaland Returns as Remington Digital Campus
We expect the new Gigaland data center application (now called the Remington Digital Campus) to come before the Planning Commission in July 2026.
The new proposed plan is half the size of the original, which would have been 2.2 million square feet, the equivalent of 12 Walmart Supercenters. That reduction in size comes with reduced power needs. The developer claims to have a commitment from Dominion Energy for the necessary power to operate the data center campus without an onsite primary power production like the one proposed for the Remington Tech Park project mentioned above. However, we know that Dominion has pushed back in-service dates in its commitments to other data center developers in the state.
PEC is still reviewing the application, which we expect could come before the Planning Commission in July. We will do a deeper dive and follow up with more information as we learn more.
Remington Comp Plan Revisions Continue
The Town of Remington held an open house in May to talk about its Comprehensive Plan, the committee leading its review and revision and ways people can take part in the process. PEC is working with fellow members of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, including the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission, Fauquier County Economic Development, Fauquier County Parks and Recreation and town residents via biweekly public meetings through 2026 and early 2027. Learn more →
We will continue to provide updates and alert you to key discussions, votes and opportunities to submit comments and weigh in as we learn about them.
Upcoming Events
We’d love to see you at upcoming in-person PEC and partner events.
June 19-20: Juneteenth Celebration in Fauquier County (Eva Walker Park and Warrenton Aquatic Recreation Facility) Learn more.
June 24 and June 25-July 5: Passport to the Parks – America’s 250th Birthday Celebration (multiple locations) Learn more
July 24 and 25: Generation NEXT Legacy Planning Workshop (John Barton Payne Building, Warrenton): Learn more and register
Now through October: Volunteer at PEC’s Community Farm (Aldie) Sign up
Every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Gilberts Corner Farmers Market (Aldie) Learn more
Thank you for your continued support and engagement on important community issues. I always enjoy interacting with you, whether it’s at PEC events or at the regular Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meetings, and learning about what’s impacting you in the community. If there’s anything you’d like to hear more about in these updates, or if you have any questions, please drop me an email and let me know.
And if you know anyone who would like to receive these email updates, please forward this email to them and share the link to sign up for updates.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Eichorn
Senior Land Use Field Representative
Fauquier County
[email protected]
(540) 347-2334 x7046
