The following text was sent out via email on April 7, 2026. Sign up for PEC email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
We have major news to share about the fight against uncontrolled data center development in Virginia. Last Tuesday, March 31, the Virginia Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling that effectively halts the controversial “Digital Gateway” project proposed in Prince William County, barring an appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Initially proposed in 2021, the project included 37 data centers and 14 substations spanning 22 million square feet (the equivalent of about 144 Walmart Supercenters) adjacent to the historically important Manassas National Battlefield Park. Manassas battlefield is the site of the Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the American Civil War, and the park serves as a popular outdoor recreation and tourism destination for residents and visitors. Despite massive community opposition, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors rezoned the site to allow the data center campuses in 2023.
The Oak Valley Homeowners Association and a group of other nearby residents, as well as American Battlefield Trust, filed separate lawsuits seeking to overturn the county’s rezoning of the land and stop the project from moving forward. In its ruling last week, which combined the two lawsuits, the Virginia Court of Appeals declared the three massive rezoning decisions underpinning the project void from the outset, finding that the Board of Supervisors failed to properly notify the public before its marathon hearing in December 2023. This is a monumental win for local communities, our national parks and the rule of law.
Why PEC Fought This Project
PEC has been engaged in this fight since 2021. We actively opposed the project at the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. When it went to court, we filed an amicus curiae highlighting the catastrophic risks this project posed to the historic Manassas National Battlefield Park, Conway Robinson State Forest, and our regional water and energy resources.
Some of the impacts that we were most concerned about:
- Energy Demand: At full build-out, we estimated that this one single project could have required between 3 and 6 gigawatts of power. That’s as much energy as all current data centers in Northern Virginia combined.
- National Parks: The industrial sprawl, across 2,100 acres, would have fundamentally altered the historic, scenic and cultural resources around the Manassas National Battlefield Park, which draws more than 700,000 visitors and serves as a major economic catalyst in Virginia.
- Water Supply and Water Quality: The scale of this proposed development threatened to pollute drinking water in the Occoquan watershed, which serves 800,000 people in Northern Virginia.
“This is a huge win for local communities, national parks and the environment! Virginians are waking up to the fact that unmitigated data center growth threatens the core things that make life here enjoyable—our fresh air, clean water and self-determination for our lands.“
~ PEC President Chris Miller
Recent News Coverage:
News of the ruling dominated local news headlines immediately following the verdict.
- Prince William Times: BREAKING: Digital Gateway suffers another blow in court
- NBC4 Washington: Prince William Digital Gateway project halted by Virginia Court of Appeals
- Potomac Local News: Digital Gateway Projects Halted: Court Rules Oak Valley Rezonings Invalid in Major Resident Victory
- Virginia Business: Virginia Appeals Court upholds block on Prince William Digital Gateway project
- Richmond Times-Dispatch: Data centers now on defensive after Virginia court ruling, budget fight (Note: Search for “Digital Gateway” for the full report)
- FauquierNow: Digital Gateway Alert: Judges rule in favor of Prince William residents
Why This Matters
This is one massive proposal in a long line of data center campuses and related energy projects (transmission lines, substations, etc.) that have threatened Virginia’s parks and battlefields, which PEC and others have fought tirelessly to protect. The Wilderness Battlefield in Orange County was named one of the most endangered historic places in the country by the National Trust for Historic Preservation due to the threat of data centers next door.
If data center development encroaches on these sites, it jeopardizes the connection to history and people’s enjoyment of outdoor recreation spaces. Outdoor recreation is an economic driver in Virginia, to the tune of $14.4 billion in value.
The rush to approve such projects without state oversight or adequate transparency about energy usage, water consumption, or emissions puts an immense burden on Virginia ratepayers and families.
As Dominion Energy rushes to build out infrastructure for these campuses, the risks to ratepayers are huge. The environmental footprint for the required energy infrastructure exceeds the data centers themselves, with several large transmission line projects proposed in the last year, the sole purpose of which is to meet the power needs of data centers. This is just the beginning of what will be needed to serve the incredible power demand of what’s already been approved.
Take Action: End the Data Center Tax Break
While we celebrate this legal victory, the broader fight for data center reform continues across the Commonwealth. Right now, Virginia legislators have an opportunity to eliminate or greatly reduce the state sales tax exemption this industry receives, which reached a startling $1.9 billion dollars in 2025. This industry has gotten away with not paying state sales taxes, avoiding basic transparency requirements, and shifting their costs of massive grid expansions onto everyday residents for too long.
Legislators were unable to agree on the budget before the end of the General Assembly, locked in a stalemate about the elimination of the data center sales tax break. They reconvene April 23 to try to finalize it. The Senate’s proposed state budget would phase out the sales tax break, while the House version keeps it in place.
We need your help to continue to hold this industry accountable and ensure the data center industry pays its fair share. Please send a message to your state representatives and the governor and tell them it’s time to end the data center tax breaks and implement state-level oversight to protect our land and water. We must ensure that data center projects like Digital Gateway, which can drive up energy bills across the commonwealth and beyond, are never approved again without state level review. Learn more and take action →
Thank you for your continued support and for standing with us to protect the Piedmont.
Sincerely,
Julie Bolthouse
Director of Land Use
[email protected]
540-347-2334 ext. 7042
