Henrico residents call on supervisors to publicly oppose data centers on Goochland-Henrico border

At a Henrico Board of Supervisors meeting Oct. 13, multiple Short Pump residents urged the board to take a formal stance against several data centers proposed just across the border in Eastern Goochland.

Developer Tract has already filed for a Conditional Use Permit from Goochland County to build a 900 megawatt data center campus just west of Route 288 and Henrico’s Tuckahoe neighborhoods. But according to regulatory filings with Dominion Energy, two additional data centers have been proposed closer to the Henrico side of the Goochland-Henrico border: a 200 megawatt campus and a larger 1,200 megawatt campus.

The proposed 1,200 megawatt campus, which requires four new electric substations, would stretch east across Route 288 and bump up against Tuckahoe Creek – less than a mile from several neighborhoods in Henrico’s Short Pump area such as Fox Hall, Milhaven and The Colonies. Dominion has not identified the developer behind the proposal.

The data center and the diesel generators proposed for the site pose a “multifaceted threat” to thousands of nearby Henrico neighbors, said resident Rose Dare, who lives about half-a-mile from the proposed site. The proposal also prompts concerns for students who attend Nuckols Farm and Gayton elementary schools, she said.

“How do you plan to shield our community from these well-documented health risks? What measures will you take to safeguard the air quality we breathe every day?” Dare said to supervisors at the meeting. “We believe the only way to protect families of Western Henrico is to prevent these data centers from being built at this highly-unsuitable border location.”

State delegate May Nivar (D-57th District), who represents parts of Western Henrico and Eastern Goochland, sent a letter to Goochland’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, urging the board to deny both Tract’s proposal and the two potential proposals near Short Pump.

“Residents are being asked to accept a project of extraordinary scale adjacent to communities where families have invested in their homes, their neighborhoods, and their quality of life,” Nivar wrote. “I do not believe it is appropriate to site industrial-scale data center facilities near established residential neighborhoods.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Short Pump residents asked the Henrico Board of Supervisors to follow suit by publicly stating opposition against the 1,200 megawatt data center and pursuing “all necessary and administrative actions” to prevent the data center from coming online.

“Henrico should not remain silent when a neighboring jurisdiction’s development decisions may affect thousands of our households and the schools our children attend,” said Courtney Dare, who lives within walking distance of her mother, Rose Dare. “They deserve more than assurances after the fact. They deserve leadership, transparency, and meaningful action before it is too late.”

Courtney Dare also urged the board to formally commit to not provide additional water resources to Goochland County to support data center development. Under an established contract, Henrico currently sells about 5.25 million gallons of water to Goochland each day – only half of which is used by the locality.

Three Chopt District supervisor Misty Roundtree said the board has “no intent” to provide additional water to Goochland for the purpose of data centers, but said that Henrico is “locked in a contract” with the locality. Roundtree also said she plans to attend an Oct. 19 community meeting in Henrico on the issue and has invited Goochland supervisor Johnathon Lyle, who represents the county’s southeastern District 5, to join her.

“We’re limited in what we can do…so it really is a matter of trying to impress upon Goochland to not prioritize the industry over the residents,” she said. “May Nivar wrote a letter today to the Goochland Board of Supervisors. Love that. Very happy to see that proactively on her part. So I remain open.”

Roundtree added that she “stands with” the concerned Short Pump residents and that her other colleagues on the Henrico Board of Supervisors are “in the loop” and also “standing behind” her.

While the land-use decisions concerning the data centers will fall under Goochland, residents in Henrico and to the north in Hanover County will feel the impact of the massive industrial developments, said Stephen Levet, a former longtime Henrico resident who now lives just across the border in Eastern Goochland.

“If either or both of these data centers gain approval, the impacts will be devastating for the entire region,” he said. “While I understand you have no vote on these matters, I’m asking, in whatever capacity is possible and appropriate, that you support your citizens who are organizing and working with Goochland and Hanover residents to defeat these proposals.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.