Data Centers in Northern Virginia: What’s Happening in Loudoun and Prince William Counties
by Tracey Barrett
September 1, 2026
Northern Virginia remains the largest data center market in the world, and nowhere is that boom — and the backlash to it — more visible than in Loudoun and Prince William counties. Over the past several months, both counties have seen major projects rejected, long-running legal fights collapse, and local governments openly debate hitting pause on new development altogether. Below is a quick rundown of what’s happening in each county, with links to the original reporting if you want the full story.
Loudoun County
Known for decades as the data center capital of the world, Loudoun is now grappling with the downside of that title. Supervisors are actively researching a moratorium on new applications, a large proposed campus was just rejected, and residents near existing facilities are increasingly vocal about noise and diesel fumes. Three articles worth reading:
- “Loudoun County, other Virginia localities consider hitting the brakes on data center development” — Virginia Mercury, July 30, 2026. Loudoun is weighing a pause on new data center applications while it rewrites its zoning rules, and it’s not alone: Suffolk, Front Royal, and Chesapeake are considering similar moves. Supervisor Juli Briskman sums up the mood bluntly: “The community has basically been begging us to do something about the unchecked growth.”
- “Loudoun County considering moratorium on new data center applications, rejects 3.25 million sq ft campus” — Data Center Dynamics, July 2026. The specifics behind the headline above: on July 22, the Board of Supervisors voted 6-1 to study whether a moratorium is even legal (a decision is expected September 15), and the planning commission separately rejected Active Infrastructure’s 3.25-million-square-foot Spring Valley Technology Park.
- “Data center noise, fumes create flood of complaints in Loudoun County” — WJLA, July 23, 2026. The human side of the policy debate: Sterling homeowners near a Vantage Data Centers facility describe a “curse on our life” after a generator outage triggered hours of constant humming and diesel exhaust, reigniting fears about air quality and home values.
Prince William County
Prince William has been the site of some of the region’s fiercest data center fights, and the last few months brought two dramatic reversals for developers — plus a reminder that new proposals keep coming regardless. Three articles worth reading:
- “Prince William Co. supervisors deny 2,000-acre Dulles South data center plans” — WTOP, July 2026. The Board of Supervisors voted 8-0 to deny a comprehensive plan amendment for a nearly 2,000-acre data center campus in Dulles South, siding with residents worried about roughly 6,000 diesel backup generators and insisting the county stick to its 2040 Comprehensive Plan rather than approve projects piecemeal.
- “Developers drop appeal of zoning decision on Digital Gateway project” — WTOP, April 2026. The end of an era for the county’s most infamous proposal: Compass Datacenters abandoned its appeal of a court ruling that voided the rezoning for the planned 22-million-square-foot “PW Digital Gateway” campus, effectively killing what would have been the world’s largest data center development.
- “Plans for up to 5 new data centers in western Prince William County revived: report” — Patch, August 18, 2026. Proof the pipeline hasn’t slowed: a developer has revived plans for as many as five data centers at the former Hillwood Camping Park site in Gainesville, already drawing opposition from a county supervisor and a local advocacy coalition over the site’s proximity to homes.
The Bigger Picture: A New State Environmental Study
Both counties’ fights are playing out against a backdrop of new scrutiny from Richmond. On July 28, 2026, Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality released a long-awaited groundwater study — originally due back in January — focused on the state’s eastern coastal plain. The findings are notable for data center siting statewide: the report concludes it’s “unlikely that a data center with evaporative cooling technology” could count on a reliable, sufficient groundwater supply in that region under current conditions, and it flags significant data gaps in how much groundwater data centers actually use. It recommends that lawmakers give regulators stronger authority to reject industrial water permits, require developers to study surface-water and water-reuse alternatives before tapping groundwater, boost funding for local water planning, and clarify how drinking-water access should be prioritized when permits are reviewed. With more than 370 operational data centers and another 438 planned across Virginia — more than any other state — the study is likely to feed directly into the zoning and moratorium debates already underway in Loudoun and Prince William.
- “Virginia study on groundwater, data centers calls for tighter water regulations” — VPM / The Associated Press, July 28, 2026.
All links above go directly to the original reporting. For a broader view of where every project stands, Prince William County also launched an interactive map tracking data center development countywide.
