Chesterfield County, Virginia, has rolled out a dedicated website for residents seeking details on data centers — one of the region's fastest-growing and most hotly debated industries.
The move comes as questions continue to mount over how these facilities affect land use, utility infrastructure, and electric bills as power-hungry AI tools drive demand for more computing capacity.
What's happening?
The county's new data center page is intended to serve as a single place to check the status of local projects, from those already in operation to others still working their way through the approval process.
As WRIC reported, Chesterfield says it has three data center projects already operating, along with two under construction, two with zoning approval, and two still awaiting approval.
Another major issue the site takes on is the potential effect on electricity costs. On that point, Chesterfield says power rates are not set by local officials and that the expenses tied to generating and transmitting electricity are spread across the utility's broader customer base.
For Dominion Energy, Chesterfield says that the statewide customer base in Virginia is more than 2.7 million.
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The county also says Dominion has asked the State Corporation Commission to create a separate rate class for customers using more than 25 megawatts of power each month, a threshold that would cover some of the largest energy users.
Why does it matter?
Data centers are becoming increasingly central to the digital economy, but they also place enormous demands on the electric grid. The issue is especially relevant in the age of AI.
Training and running AI systems also require massive computing power, which can translate into higher electricity and water use, more infrastructure buildout, cybersecurity concerns, and broader societal risks if growth outpaces planning.
Communities are also trying to understand who pays when large facilities require new substations, transmission lines, or other upgrades.
What's being done?
Chesterfield's website highlights Dominion's proposed new rate structure for exceptionally large power users, which is now before the State Corporation Commission.
The website said, "Dominion's plan also introduces financial safeguards to ensure that data center developers and other large industrial customers cover the cost of energy infrastructure upgrades that wouldn't otherwise be needed."
Chesterfield also notes that the General Assembly's approved budget for fiscal year 2027 includes a monthly tax of $0.011 per kilowatt-hour on electricity used at Virginia data centers.
The county page tracks proposed facilities, the stage projects are in, and the policy decisions that could shape local growth, grid reliability, and costs over time.
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