Bacon's Rebellion

The Surge in Prince William Data Storage

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James A. Bacon
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7 responses to “The Surge in Prince William Data Storage”

  1. Charlie Grymes Avatar
    Charlie Grymes

    “someone needs to figure out how to mediate these seemingly irreconcilable differences.”

    That’s been done. There is opposition to ratepayers being required to fund Amazon’s personal extension cord to a data center located in the wrong place, so Prince William designated a Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District in 2016 so the power-hungry facilities would be located where power is already available.

    There are 10,000 acres of land in Prince William offering obvious and suitable places for data centers, not “irreconcilable differences.”

    Check out the news release at http://www.pwcgov.org/news/pages/prince-william-county-solidifies-data-center-opportunities.aspx

  2. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Then how about sending those data centers to SW Va and kill two birds with one stone – jobs and internet for those areas!

    Why not? There already is one in Lebanon, Va…. for VITA/ McDonald Douglas… the subject of a dispute about data backup services for the State of Virginia.

    But the essential point is that if NoVa does not want data centers or powerlines..or solar panels… or wind turbines.. then offer them to SW Va…. If those folks were fine with blowing off the tops of mountains.. surely they’d be fine with putting solar panels and wind turbines on top of what is left of those mountains, eh?

    1. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      A number of years ago I negotiated a data transport agreement (fiber optic cable) for a large financial institution that wanted to connect backup databases and computing capacity at an outstate location for security purposes. Since that was readily doable, why not more in SW VA as Larry suggests?

  3. Mom Avatar
    Mom

    Seems the issue grows more widespread:

    A Roanoke-based lawyer representing 17 plaintiffs who own 10 properties along the current route of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline contend that the federal agency tasked with reviewing interstate pipelines should not be able to grant the power of eminent domain to a private company for its pursuit of “private pecuniary gain.”

    http://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/landowners-along-pipeline-route-sue-ferc-and-mountain-valley-pipeline/article_d62df8dc-d3c1-51fa-930d-5a5a27784eaa.html

  4. V N Avatar
    V N

    Maybe easier to ask who wants this stuff and then put it there.

  5. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    so here is the Headline: ” State agency, Northrop Grumman settle access to data center
    The Associated Press

    July 28, 2017 12:08 PM
    LEBANON, Va.

    The Virginia Information Technologies Agency and Northrop Grumman have settled a legal dispute out of court involving access to a data center in southwest Virginia.”

    So the major backup sites for Virginia are in Chester and Lebanon… and as I recall… the SW Va site was part of an original deal with Northrop Grumman.

    That relationship has never been good . Bacon blogged about it in 2009 I think..

    but the point is that you CAN put such a data center in SW Va…

    however… just like wind, solar, natural gas plants… AND pipelines, etc.. not a big job generator… and the reality is there are no silver bullet solutions … it’s going to be a little here and a little there. and some folks get good educations and leave for the cities… for work.

    Maybe some retirement communities.. maybe a pump-storage facility mated with a gas plant, and wind/solar…

    Ironically – it’s health care that has the potential to generate a lot of health care jobs… both professionals and occupational certificates, etc… if we can ever agree on how it will be funded… or not..

    The deal with the pipeline… read the article – is eminent domain… and the issue is whether it is a true “public need” or just a company that sees a market demand and chooses a for-profit company rather than a regulated monopoly…

    but yeah.. if you want to see REAL Opposition – propose a pipeline up in NoVa!!!!

  6. Acbar Avatar
    Acbar

    Getting off the subject, here? This data center issue in the aggregate is what’s driving Dominion’s growth estimates in its annual IRP which, you may recall, are significantly higher than PJM’s independent estimate of the same factors. https://www.baconsrebellion.com/39608-2/ ;
    https://www.baconsrebellion.com/why-would-dominion-want-a-19-billion-nuclear-plant/ I’d like to know if this “surge” in data center construction supports the Dominion IRP estimates, or PJM’s, or neither.

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