As data center development remains a central debate in Virginia, the Lynchburg region has one project getting ready to be powered up and three site proposals in early stages, with a slew of zoning rules to shape them all.
Appomattox County’s project is moving ahead, as permits are secured and a performance agreement is finalized.
Meanwhile, Amherst County staff members are asking a developer to reapply for its data center project and undergo a special exception zoning process that was passed in August. And Campbell County staff have concept plans, but no formal site plans, for two proposed projects — which are not subject to stricter data center zoning rules that were passed in May.
When it comes to data center regulation at the local level, cities and counties rely on zoning to control how property can be used and developed. At the state level, Gov. Abigail Spanberger issued an executive order this month focused on data center accountability, which includes goals to develop noise regulations, improve energy affordability and review backup energy generation options.
Proponents of data centers see them as a way to strengthen local tax bases and provide essential infrastructure for the digital world. Opponents raise concerns about the centers’ use of critical resources such as water, land and electricity and the dangers posed by the growing artificial intelligence industry.
Appomattox project planned to be powered up in 2027
The AVAIO Digital Partners data center is set to occupy more than 400 acres at an Appomattox County industrial park site.
In Appomattox’s zoning ordinance, data centers are considered “industrial manufacturing,” which is permitted by right in the county’s two industrial districts. As a by-right project, the data center did not require any public hearings or special approvals from the county’s board of supervisors to move in.
In 2024, the county’s economic development authority signed an agreement with AVAIO to start the development process on the $3 billion data center campus, according to a news release from the company. According to the company’s website, initial power will be delivered to the site, called “Project Hercules,” in 2027.
Construction hasn’t started yet but should by the end of the year, said Garet Bosiger, chair of the county’s economic development authority, in an email. The building period is set to last about 10 years and will generate at least 500 construction jobs. The final campus will include six or seven data centers, which will each employ between 25 and 40 people, and others will be hired for sitewide positions such as security and landscaping, he said.
The site currently has 50 megawatts of electricity available without needing additional energy infrastructure, said Susan Adams, the county administrator, in an email. She added that the company is “actively pursuing finalization of increased electrical transmission capacity” from the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Dominion Energy.
“With fully approved zoning, dense long-haul fiber connectivity, secured water service and one of the most attractive tax environments in Virginia, Project Hercules provides a highly scalable, cost-advantaged platform” for AI and computing, the data center company’s website says. Bosiger said the campus’s first user will likely not be an AI company but rather a company that executes “customer centered functions that we all use” such as virtual banking transactions.
The town of Appomattox will provide up to 45,000 gallons of water and 45,000 gallons of wastewater service per day to the data center, said Michael Campbell, the town manager, in a Facebook post. The town supplies water service to existing businesses in the industrial park; it owns and operates the utility systems in the area, even though the data center campus is on county property. The town has the capacity to meet the commitment to AVAIO, which will be responsible for utility charges like any other water customer, according to the post.
“Any request for service beyond the town’s existing commitment, or any additional infrastructure necessary to provide such service, will require further review and approval by the town and appropriate agreements addressing capacity, infrastructure, financing and associated costs,” the post said.
Adams said other pieces are falling into place: The company has submitted necessary permit applications, the state Department of Environmental Quality has approved the company’s stormwater management plan, and attorneys are finalizing the language of the data center’s performance agreement.
According to a recent resolution to approve the performance agreement, the board of supervisors finds that the project “will expand the county’s tax base, support employment and produce direct and indirect benefits to the citizens of the county.”
There is community opposition to the project, including a petition with close to 300 signatures that was started in March. The petition cites concerns regarding the lack of resident input in the development process, the damage to the “serene landscape of Appomattox” and negative environmental impacts.
The county’s economic development authority members signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the project about three years ago, Bosiger said, as they worked out details such as job creation and water and electricity usage. The authority’s goal is to “promote economic development, obtain capital investment to lessen the burden of our citizens and to create good-paying jobs,” he said.
New site plan, and special exception permit, needed in Amherst
In August, Amherst County received a site plan from Old Dominion Capital Partners LLC for a data center on about 90 acres of land zoned for industrial use in Madison Heights.
On the same day that the plan was submitted, the county board of supervisors approved a zoning ordinance amendment that requires data centers to receive a special exception permit in areas zoned for industrial use. Data centers used to be allowed in the industrial zone by right, but the amendment requires data centers to undergo public hearings and votes by the board. The amendment also provides regulations for special exception submission requirements and development standards.
Initially, it was unclear whether the proposed Madison Heights data center would be subject to the county’s new special-permit rule or allowed by right.
Tyler Creasy, director of community development, said in an emailed statement on Sept. 21 that county staff reviewed the data center application and deemed it incomplete. Staff then informed Old Dominion Capital Partners that any new submittal would have to be approved by the board of supervisors for a special exception permit.
Creasy added that county officials are not yet aware of project details such as estimated job creation or construction cost. No county staff have signed nondisclosure agreements relating to the incomplete site plan, he said.
Dozens of residents have spoken at board meetings in recent months against allowing data centers in the county, citing concerns about noise, water and electricity use, and environmental damage. A smaller group, including economic development officials, have supported data centers, citing the potential for additional tax revenue and strengthened economic development.
Campbell projects not subject to new zoning rules
Similar to Amherst’s board, the Campbell County Board of Supervisors voted to remove data centers from the list of by-right uses in heavy industrial zones and put them instead on the list that requires special use permits. The zoning amendment was initially adopted as an emergency ordinance in December, then formalized in the spring.
The amendment was made after residents raised concerns about two proposed data center projects that submitted plans by right, one on Cabin Field Road and one on Mt. Athos Road.
“These projects are eligible to proceed with ‘vested rights’ and were not subject to the emergency zoning ordinance,” said Brian Stokes, the county’s director of community development, in an emailed statement. He added that neither project has submitted formal site plans or construction permit applications yet.
The Mt. Athos property covers 135 acres, Stokes said, and the county’s economic development staff signed an NDA with a company interested in the site in 2023. The concept plan for the property, released to Cardinal News by the county, shows a waterline that could provide 500,000 gallons per day from the Campbell County Utilities and Service Authority and areas for potential American Electric Power substations.
The Cabin Field Road data center, proposed by Mesh Capital LLC, would occupy 57 acres at the road’s intersection with U.S. 460 if progress continues.
Discussions elsewhere in the Lynchburg region
Neither the city of Lynchburg nor Bedford County have proposed data center plans, but zoning remains at the center of the discussion.
The Lynchburg City Council voted in July to regulate data centers by amending the city’s zoning ordinance.
Previously, data centers were permitted by right in eight zoning districts in the city. Under the new rules, developers must obtain a conditional use permit from the city council to build a data center, and those permits will only be granted in four industrial and institutional zoning districts.
In Bedford County, residents recently spoke against data centers at a board of supervisors meeting. At the Aug. 25 meeting, board chair Tammy Parker said the county’s zoning ordinance, as is, does not permit data centers. The ordinance does not include the term “data center” at all.
