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Dear Supporter,
I am writing to bring your attention to a proposal for a massive data center campus known as “Gigaland” that, if approved, would have major implications for Remington and Fauquier County and pave the way for more transmission lines and data center approvals. (Click here to view the rezoning application.)
We are urging residents of Fauquier to oppose the project at the upcoming public hearing at the Fauquier County Planning Commission on Wednesday, June 18, in person and/or via email (more info below).
What is Gigaland?
The Remington Technology Park, approved in 2018, is anticipated to begin land clearing and construction on their six data center buildings soon. In addition, there are four other projects proposed, including Gigaland, which is coming up for a hearing next week. “Gigaland,” on 200 acres on Lucky Hill Road in Remington, VA, would includeseven data center buildings with a square footage of over 2.2 million square feet,or roughly the equivalent of 12 Walmart Supercenters.The project also alarmingly includes four substations and a water tower.
We are concerned that if Gigaland is approved, it will overwhelm the Town of Remington and pave the way for more data centers and transmission lines in Fauquier, transforming the community into a heavy industrial complex of substations and criss-crossing transmission lines. This proposal is also the first of four data center applications that have been submitted in the Remington area. The approval of these data centers could have a cascading effect, spawning new substations and transmission lines in Fauquier and in neighboring Culpeper, which in turn attract yet more data centers hoping to use the electrical infrastructure, similar to what we have seen in Loudoun and Prince William counties.
What you can do
The Fauquier County Planning Commission is holding a public hearing about this application on Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Warren Green Building in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room located at 10 Hotel Street, 1st Floor.
We encourage you to attend the hearing, if you can, and speak up in opposition to the proposal. If you can’t make it, please submit written comments asking the Fauquier County Planning Commission to recommend that Gigaland be denied.
Attend the Public Hearing on June 18 and Oppose the Gigaland Data Center Proposal
What: Fauquier County Planning Commission Hearing / Work Session on Gigaland Data Center Proposal
When: Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Warren Green Building – Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room
10 Hotel Street, 1st Floor – Large Meeting Room
Warrenton, Virginia 20186
Key Points Against the Gigaland Project
- More Data Centers Mean More Transmission Lines
The developers behind Gigaland have claimed that this project will not generate any new transmission lines, which issimply not true. The transmission lines leading to Remington from both the west and the south are anticipated to be overloaded to the point of voltage collapse during summer peak loads in 2029 (see slides 10, 16 of the PJM Reliability Analysis Update, July, 2024).
Gigaland may be located near existing lines, but the massive energy demand from this facility and the other proposed facilities in Remington all but guarantee more transmission lines in southern Fauquier. More substations will also increase the likelihood that future lines will be routed through the Fauquier to provide electricity to data centers in Prince William and Loudoun. - Construction Traffic
Fauquier is already dealing with construction traffic (especially dump trucks) from data center sites in Prince William County, damaging local roads and making them more dangerous for local traffic. The traffic study submitted by Gigaland only includes estimates for traffic after the facility is built and runningand does not account for construction traffic, which can be considerable.
This is concerning because Fauquier County Planning Staff have noted that because of the shrink-swell soils and underlying geology of the site, “a significant amount of material may have to be exported.” Meaning there will likely be a lot of dump trucks going in and out, disposing of dirt from this site. Construction from this project could also overlap with construction from the previously approved Remington Technology Park, putting additional strain on rural roads.
Cautionary Tale: Hiddenwood Assemblage Case in Loudoun
This situation is eerily similar to that of Hiddenwood Assemblage, a small neighborhood in Loudoun County that has become surrounded by data centers. Each of these data center proposals was approved individually, without consideration for the cumulative impacts the construction or operation would have on nearby homes. Consequently, residents of Hiddenwood have been plagued with years of construction noise, dust, and traffic and are trying desperately to sell their homes, because the quality of life in their once peaceful neighborhood has been ruined. We are concerned that Remington may soon face a similarly bleak future if data center after data center is approved.
- Four Substations When Only Two Are Needed
We are concerned that two of the substation locations may have actually been requested and expedited by Dominion so they can route more power through Fauquier to Loudoun and Prince William without needing to get approval for additional substation sites from the Board of Supervisors, who have historically pushed back on such requests.
The Gigaland general concept plan shows four substations; however, the substation engineering letter of authorization agreement between the applicant and Dominion Energy shows that they only agreed to 600MW of power to serve the data centers, which can be provided with two substations. What’s unclear is why the plan shows four, if only two are needed.
We also think it’s weird that the in-service dates of these substations are in early 2028, meaning that they are expected to provide 600MW of power by then. Data centers typically take several years to “ramp up” to their full energy load, which usually happens only after the space in the data center has been sold or leased. We seriously doubt that, even if Gigaland were approved tomorrow, it could build seven data centers and ramp up to full capacity in just under three years. - Light and Noise Pollution
These data centers are going to be within 500 feet of the nearest home. Data centers are well-lit at night (for security purposes), often with LEDs, which can be very impactful to night skies. This may be less noticeable in urban areas where there is already a high amount of light pollution, but can be extremely disruptive in rural areas that are naturally darker. Light pollution near neighborhoods can negatively impact the health and well-being of the people and wildlife that live there.
The noise limits proposed by Gigaland are higher than those recommended by both the EPA and the WHO. Noise pollution has been proven to cause sleep disruption, cardiovascular disease and reduced quality of life, among other maladies. Recently, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study on data centers, specifically recommended that localities avoid allowing data centers near residential areas because of conflicts like noise. Similar to light, noise from data centers in rural areas is also likely to be more noticeable because the background noise is naturally much quieter.
Speak up to protect Remington
These are just some of our concerns about Gigaland – see our comments to the Fauquier County Planning Commission highlighting how this proposal also fails to comply with both Fauquier’s Data Center Policy and Comprehensive Plan. This is all part of a broader problem of unregulated and unsustainable data center growth, which has already led to new transmission lines throughout Virginia’s rural landscape, delayed retirement of polluting fossil fuel power plants, and created massive jumps in residents’ electricity bills. Approving more data centers is not the solution to this problem.
Please join us in voicing opposition to the Gigaland project at the Fauquier County Planning Commission Hearing. We hope you will stand up for the future of Remington and not let unencumbered data center and transmission line development change the landscape for the worse forever. We hope you will consider attending the hearing on June 18 and/or submitting written comments.
Thank you for your support on this important issue that affects the safety, health, and quality of life of Fauquier County residents.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Sarah Parmelee
Culpeper Land Use Representative
[email protected]
(540) 347-2334 ext. 7045
