{"id":854259,"date":"2026-09-20T11:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T11:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/854259\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T11:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T11:14:16","slug":"this-is-the-data-centre-capital-of-the-world-theyre-starting-to-regret-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/854259\/","title":{"rendered":"This is the data centre capital of the world. They\u2019re starting to regret it"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Loudoun County, Virginia: When plans first dropped for a big new data centre next to Lindsay Shaw\u2019s home in Sterling, Virginia, she welcomed it. \u201cIt is what it is,\u201d she thought at the time. \u201cWe\u2019re in the data centre capital of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

What she didn\u2019t know then was that this facility by Vantage Data Centres would not be connected to the electricity grid, and would be powered by its own gas turbines, at least for now. The resulting noise, which typically involves a high-pitched whistle sound, has become unbearable for many in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\"LindsayLindsay Shaw and partner Bob Salehi outside the Ashburn II Data Centre Campus, which is just metres from their home.Leigh Vogel for Sydney Morning Herald \/ The Age<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gets so loud some nights you can hear it over the TV in my house,\u201d says Shaw, 38. \u201cYou can hear it over the air-conditioners, you can hear it over the lawnmower, you can hear it over anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are about 250 data centres operating or under construction in Loudoun County \u2013 the highest concentration anywhere in the world. Most were built between 2019 and 2024, but the spree has continued: in 2025, the county issued permits for more than 10 million square feet of data centre space.<\/p>\n

Drive along Waxpool Road or Loudoun County Parkway, and you will see the products of this boom: big boxes of largely windowless buildings with names like Equinix, QTS and H5, and dirt mounds surrounded by cranes. It is estimated that 70 per cent of global traffic passes through or is created in Loudoun County\u2019s \u201cdata centre alley\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Ashburn II Data Centre Campus looms over houses in Sterling, Virginia.Sydney Morning Herald<\/p>\n

But many of the county\u2019s 450,000 residents \u2013 like Americans around the country \u2013 have had enough. On Tuesday night, dozens spoke at a public meeting to call for a pause on data centre approvals, which the board of county supervisors ultimately voted to support.<\/p>\n

A Loudoun resident for 20 years, Sarah Chen said: \u201cI\u2019ve watched it go from green pastures with livestock to feeling like livestock as our homes and health have been sold out to feed corporate greed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve built more than enough data centres in this county. Loudoun is infamous for them. We must have a full stop, and this moratorium is the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnAn Amazon data centre, part of data centre alley, in Ashburn, Virginia.Bloomberg<\/p>\n

Loudoun County alone has more data centres than Australia. That may change if state and federal governments forge ahead with plans to encourage AI development, while imposing rules and standards on where large AI data centres can be built and the power and water they consume.<\/p>\n

Whether Loudoun serves as a road map or a cautionary tale depends on who you talk to.<\/p>\n

This area of Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, became a data centre powerhouse because of the dense fibre optic network built there in the 1990s, when AOL established a primary gateway in Loudoun County. The board of supervisors also granted by-right planning permission for data centres, allowing them to be built anywhere zoned for office development.<\/p>\n

Virginia\u2019s state government maintains several financial incentives for data centres, reducing upfront costs and corporate income tax. County supervisor Juli Briskman says the true catalyst for the boom was the Great Recession of 2008-09, which arose from the US subprime mortgage crisis.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunities were struggling with their tax base and tax revenue because of the dip in housing values,\u201d she says. \u201cThe great folks at our economic development department realised, \u2018Hey, we have this fibre in the ground, we have the infrastructure in place that we could start welcoming this newish industry\u2019. \u201d<\/p>\n

Economically, there is no doubt this has been a winner for Loudoun County \u2013 which is frequently cited as the wealthiest in America. Residents here enjoy very high household incomes, and the data centres raise $US1.2 billion ($1.68 billion) a year in tax revenue and climbing \u2013 accounting for 40 per cent of the county\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

\"JuliJuli Briskman, who is on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, says the revenue is \u201cwonderful\u201d but residents have had enough.Michael Koziol<\/p>\n

That income subsidises increased services while enabling the county to reduce property taxes. It has cut real property taxes every year for the past 10 years, from $1.145 per $100 of assessed value to $0.805, saving homeowners thousands of dollars a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to almost eliminate the car tax, which is a hated tax in Virginia,\u201d Briskman says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been fully funding our excellent public school system, which is of course an economic driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

She enumerates other benefits: a mental health facility built in two years, a $US22 million cheque to acquire and preserve Oak Hill, the historic estate of former president James Monroe. \u201cThere aren\u2019t a lot of jurisdictions in the state where they could do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet Briskman, a Democrat, is leading the charge to crack down on data centres. \u201cThe revenue is wonderful, in large part,\u201d she says. \u201cBut that\u2019s just not an argument that\u2019s holding water any more with our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a sunny weekday morning, Briskman takes this masthead on a walk around the off-grid Vantage data centre in Sterling, powered by its eight gas turbines. A low hum is audible out the front, but it\u2019s when we go to the rear that the turbines\u2019 high-pitched sound grows loud. This section abuts a business centre, not homes.<\/p>\n

\"HomesHomes behind the Vantage Data Centre facility in Sterling, Virginia, which has the world\u2019s highest concentration of data centres.<\/p>\n

There is a wall of back-up diesel generators, which Lindsay Shaw says were supposed to be for emergencies but end up being used once or twice a month. \u201cWhen you walk out you can taste the smoke, like walking into a pack of cigarettes,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shaw says neighbours\u2019 children have developed respiratory illnesses that they attribute to the generators, and others have dry eye disease. \u201cIt\u2019s been extremely negative, living next to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vantage maintains that noise mitigation measures are in place and that independent assessments confirm the centre complies with sound targets.<\/p>\n

Last month, its vice president of public policy, Misty Allen, told a public meeting that the company had made several improvements to reduce noise, including wrapping sound blankets around the exterior, replacing vents with noise-suppressing hoods and attaching a demister and silencer on the exhaust fans.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Dario<\/a><\/p>\n

But the meeting was rattled when Allen revealed the facility is not expected to be connected to the power grid \u2013 and taken off the turbines \u2013 until 2040.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very much our intention and desire to connect to the Dominion grid as quickly as we possibly can when capacity becomes available,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Briskman said the 2040 estimate created a problem for residents considering moving away from the area, who would now be unable to get a fair value for their homes.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Vantage said it was committed to continuous improvement and being a responsible long-term neighbour. \u201cWhile the VA2 campus is in full compliance with applicable local noise ordinances, we know that isn\u2019t enough given the concerns the community has expressed,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we have been implementing additional noise mitigation measures based on community feedback, many of which have already been completed and are making a difference today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loudoun County had already removed the right for data centres to be built on land zoned for office use without explicit planning approval \u2013 a move matched by several Virginia counties. At Tuesday night\u2019s meeting, the board of supervisors agreed to draft a resolution to pause new data centre applications for 12 months. It will go to a final vote next month.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Only one supervisor, Kristen Umstattd, opposed the pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worry a little bit \u2013 maybe I worry a lot \u2013 about where we\u2019re going as a board when we seem happy to ignore one area, one industry, that provides good-paying jobs,\u201d said Umstattd, a Democrat who has been in local politics for four decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we keep saying no \u2013 and we\u2019ve begun to say no to these \u2013 and we shut down this industry, we\u2019re going to lose the jobs that keep a thousand Loudoun families able to put food on their table. I just cannot get past that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representatives from local chambers of commerce made similar points at the meeting, saying a pause would send the wrong signal to businesses considering investments in Loudoun County. They also agreed Loudoun relied too heavily on data centre revenue and ought to diversify its economy.<\/p>\n

These battles are being fought around Virginia and the US. Harford County in Maryland, north of Baltimore, voted in June to permanently ban data centres. Woodford County in Kentucky passed a similar ban last week. Dozens of other counties, from North Carolina to Florida to New Mexico, have enacted temporary moratoriums or freezes on data centre permits.<\/p>\n

\"LocalLocal people complain of constant noise from nearby data centres.Sydney Morning Herald<\/p>\n

At a local level, the backlash against data centres \u2013 and anxiety about AI more broadly \u2013 is largely bipartisan. In Congress, too, many Republicans are joining Democrats in demanding AI regulations and a slowdown.<\/p>\n

A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released last week found just 11 per cent of Americans \u2013 one in nine \u2013 said they would support the construction of a data centre in their local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe remarkable thing is that we can\u2019t find a constituency that actually wants these data centres,\u201d said Raymond La Raja, a professor of political science and co-director of the poll.<\/p>\n

Republicans were more receptive than Democrats, but they also opposed data centres. \u201cAmong the strongest MAGA supporters \u2013 the group most receptive to data centres \u2013 just 25 per cent support them being built nearby, compared with 42 per cent who oppose,\u201d La Raja said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m tired of being gaslit by being told it\u2019s NIMBY \u2026 We choose to live here, and we deserve a beautiful county where we don\u2019t have to fear future development\u2019.<\/p>\n

Sophia Chen, Loudoun County resident<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump is trying to change that. As the sector\u2019s own leaders sound the alarm on unchecked AI development, he leapt to defend the industry and the data centres that enable it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social at the end of August. \u201cIf we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days ago, Trump went further, labelling the anxiety a \u201choax\u201d perpetrated to advantage China, which he warned would leapfrog the US if development slowed down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI, and Data Centers, will be the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History \u00ad\u00ad\u2013 Bigger than Oil, Gold, Diamonds, or even the Internet. It will not be stopped by brilliantly run Destructive Forces during the Term of President DONALD J. TRUMP!\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"President<\/a><\/p>\n

Much of Trump\u2019s thinking on the topic is informed by entrepreneur and investor David Sacks, the president\u2019s former AI tsar who now serves as co-chair of the President\u2019s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.<\/p>\n

Sacks told Politico\u2019s Decoded Summit in Washington on Wednesday that the current panic about AI was being driven by the media and politically vested interests ahead of the midterm election on November 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already have a lot of laws and regulations that pertain to AI,\u201d he said, referring to rules on cyberattacks, privacy violations and product liability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can have an intelligent conversation about [whether] we need something else on top of that. But it\u2019s hard to have that conversation when you have this fearmongering going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Loudoun County, however, it is not fear \u2013 it\u2019s the reality of life in the world\u2019s data centre capital, as residents clamour for an off-switch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of being gaslit by being told it\u2019s NIMBY \u2013 not in my backyard \u2013 to protest data centres or substations or power lines because they\u2019re ugly,\u201d said resident Sophia Chen.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t tell us looks aren\u2019t important \u2013 they are. We choose to live here, and we deserve a beautiful county where we don\u2019t have to fear future development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juli Briskman says governments and communities in Australia contemplating a future with more data centres should not automatically say no, but they ought to be strategic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great source of revenue,\u201d she says. \u201cYou just need to be smart about where you put them, about the environmental impacts, about the electrical infrastructure that\u2019s required. You need to have the full picture, which we didn\u2019t always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-854259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}