On August 10, 2022 the local citizen group Protect Fauquier and nonprofit organizations Citizens for Fauquier County and Piedmont Environmental Council hosted a community town hall to highlight our concerns regarding the data center and its broader impacts and to share actions residents can take to oppose the proposal.
Data Centers
Three local groups unite against proposed Amazon data center and associated transmission line
The local citizen group Protect Fauquier and nonprofit organizations Citizens For Fauquier County (CFFC) and The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) are united against Amazon’s proposed data center project near Blackwell Road. The data center would sit at the northern gateway into Warrenton, along with a new Dominion electric substation, and would require miles of new high voltage transmission lines supported by 110-feet-tall steel towers, according to Dominion Energy.
Amazon and Dominion Set Sights on Warrenton
Two of the biggest corporate interests in Virginia have eyes on Warrenton. Late in 2021, Amazon bought a 41-acre parcel for a potential new data center, and has since submitted a “load letter” to Dominion Energy.
Data Center and Transmission Line Updates
Amazon filed an application for a data center with the Town of Warrenton; Dominion is moving forward with public meetings.
Regional traffic congestion, pollution in the Occoquan?
Last November, PEC wrote about the threats posed to Prince William County’s long-standing Rural Crescent by three major land use decisions.
Prince William County Considers Land Use Changes That Encourage Sprawl
Prince William County is evaluating three different land use changes that would introduce industrial and residential sprawl into the Rural Crescent, to the detriment of water quality, wildlife habitat, agriculture, historic resources, tourism and the rural atmosphere.
True North Developer Requests Changes
The proffer adjustments would help limit harm to a globally-rare ecological community called the Northern Piedmont Mafic Barren.
Amazon Data Center Would Force New Transmission Line to Warrenton
Dominion Energy says it would be required to build new 230-kV transmission lines if the Amazon data center on Blackwell Rd in Warrenton moves forward.
Data Center Proposed in Historic Stevensburg
I am reaching out to you today about a proposal to rezone nearly 250 acres of agricultural land to light industrial in order to allow the construction of a massive 427,000 square foot data center (2x the size of the Walmart Supercenter) along Route 3 in the historic Stevensburg area.
National Parks, Rural Prince William Under Threat
As PEC’s deputy director of land use, I am writing to let you know about several local issues that have both regional and national implications. Put simply, the rural area of Prince William County, also known as the “Rural Crescent,” is under threat. Three different proposals are being considered, each unique in scope, but together represent the urbanization and industrialization of the remaining rural lands in Prince William County.