GAINESVILLE, VA — Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam is hearing the backlash to data centers firsthand from his Northern Virginia constituents.
There are more than 660 active data centers in Virginia and almost 600 additional facilities currently under construction in the state, the most in the U.S., according to a December survey by American Edge Project, a pro-industry group. As they sprout up in suburbs and the countryside, people who live near data centers have concerns that range from the loud humming noise of their cooling systems to air pollution to the spike in utility prices tied to these power-hungry facilities.