Amazon will no longer build four new data centers on the site of the George Washington University's campus in Loudoun County, just outside of D.C., and will instead repurpose the majority of the 122-acre space for mixed-use and residential development following significant pushback from the local community. It will also donate 25 acres of the property to Loudoun County to be used for a community arts center and new recreational facility. On top of all that, it'll even give $5 million to the county's fund for housing, reports The Washington Post.
That's quite the turnaround compared to plans to build in a county that is already dubbed "Data Center Alley" because it has the largest concentration of data centers on the planet. But residents' concerns about the noise generated by such data centers and the incredible amount of power that they require to function have seen the county's approach to new data center buildouts change of late. Amazon first submitted its proposal to build the new facilities in July, and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall and Amazon met in September, where it was put to the company that it may be better to find an alternative use for the land.
Josh Weissman, Amazon’s vice president in charge of data center development, said the company had jumped at the chance to purchase the former university campus when the opportunity arose, but added that the company considered the county’s “pointed concerns about data center development at this particular site.” Weissman added that “While we see the property’s legal development potential differently than the County does, we concluded that the best outcome for all is to come together on a shared vision for this campus rather than engage in costly litigation.”
The building of new data centers has always been a necessity given our growing use of cloud-based services and storage systems. But the recent boom in AI use has seen demand for additional, and larger, facilities ratcheted up to new levels. But with that demand comes opposition, with local communities wary of the impact these mammoth facilities can have on the areas in which they live, including spikes in the price of electricity. Officials have begun taking steps to try to grease the wheels of data center construction. Just days before this news broke, President Donald Trump called for data center builders and AI hyperscalers to pay local communities a dividend amid energy-related price increases. In a social media post, Trump went on to say that data centers would be required not only to make their own electricity but also to give or sell excess energy back to the local community. Water shortages and deforestation have also become key issues affecting the communities in which data centers are being placed.
Back in Loudoun County, officials pointed to what could be achieved when choosing dialog over confrontation. “By choosing dialogue over reflexive disagreement, Loudoun County and Amazon created an opportunity for the County,” Randall reportedly said via statement. “This agreement provides new places for our Loudoun residents to gather, create, and play. And, most importantly to me, we will provide more attainable homes for working families.”
Follow * Tom's Hardware on Google News**, or* * add us as a preferred source**, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.*
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Oliver Haslam has written about technology of all shapes and sizes for over 15 years, both online and in print. He's fascinated by how personal computing continues to change as tower PCs give way to foldable phones and beyond.
-
The article said:Back in Loudoun County, officials pointed to what could be achieved when choosing dialog over confrontation. “By choosing dialogue over reflexive disagreement, Loudoun County and Amazon created an opportunity for the County,” Randall reportedly said via statement. “This agreement provides new places for our Loudoun residents to gather, create, and play. And, most importantly to me, we will provide more attainable homes for working families.”They're really taking a victory lap over this? Really? This is a simple math. Power grid has zero capacity remaining. Data centers cannot draw power from zero available.
NoVA (Northern Virginia) is maxed out on energy use. They cannot connect any more data centers to the power grid. This whole region slips in and out of a "power grid emergency" based on the weather. It's so bad that the schools and other public institutions in NoVA constantly lose electricity daily according to news reports. Loudoun physically cannot install any more data centers unless they generate their own power until the new transmission lines in Southern Virginia and Maryland are built. There is no victory here. There is no "dialog" with the community. There is simple math -- you cannot add a power-hungry set of buildings when zero power is available.
We really need the federal government to step in and force a new power plant to be built in Loudoun. I don't care how loud people scream about their Potomac River views and how a new power plant would ruin them. You people made your bed; now sleep in it. Amazon isn't doing anyone favors here, and Loudoun has not scored a victory. All they did was swap a future data center project for more overpriced luxury housing. Bravo for the Silver Line WMATA transit though -- that is a legit bright spot. Reply