‘The data centers are coming’ – but some Hanover and Henrico residents are fighting to stop them

Ggrassy roadsides in Hanover County are still littered with “Vote No” signs leftover from Virginia’s redistricting election. But little by little, those billboards are being replaced by smaller signs stating: “Grow Tomatoes, Not Data Centers.”

With election season over, an ever-growing threat now looms larger over Hanover residents: hyperscale data centers. The conservative-leaning rural county has been hit with multiple data center proposals over the past year, with most being proposed in the southern part of the county near Ashland.

On April 22, local advocacy group Friends of Hanover held an Earth Day rally outside the Hanover County Government Building in protest of a new 427-acre data center proposed at the Hanover-Henrico border in the South Anna District.

Donning red t-shirts and signs with large red tomatoes – the signature plant of Hanover County – protesters spoke about how they feared data centers would irrevocably harm the local environment, the water supply, the health of community members, and the rural nature of the area.

“At this point, the biggest environmental justice issue is data centers,” said Tim Cywinski, the communications director for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “It’s woven into everything, whether it’s water quality, air quality, and they’re also used as an excuse to build new oil pipelines and fossil fuel plants. This has become too big for us to be able to ignore.”

The proposed Mountain Road Technology Park would be located just southeast of the intersection between Mountain Road and Winns Church Road and just north of Henrico’s Hunton Park subdivision. The 900-megawatt data center also would be about 1.5 miles away from Glen Allen Elementary, two miles away from Glen Allen High and Echo Lake Elementary, and several miles away from a number of other Henrico County schools.

That proximity to many residences and schools has prompted multiple concerns for Hanover and Henrico residents about emissions from the diesel generators (a 900-MW facility would require around 300 generators), impacts on residential electricity costs, and effects on the local water supply – the developer, Tract, has predicted that the data center will use 600,000 gallons of water per day and 2-million gallons during peak demand, which is 90% of the area’s water supply.

“There’s hundreds of diesel generators that are the size of a shipping container. When those turn on, it looks like the building’s on fire. The smoke film is that incense,” said Cywinski. “And they want to put this one less than five miles away from like six different schools.”

“Anyone that lives in Hanover has experienced water restrictions,” said longtime Hanover resident Mike Withrow. “Are residents going to have to conserve water while the data centers burn through at least 600,000 gallons of water per day?”

Tract officials said that the data center will connect only to the public water system, which the developer plans to bolster by dedicating $15 million to new infrastructure, and will therefore not impact the water supply of residents’ – most of whom use private wells. Tract has also saidthat the data center will provide 300-350 permanent local jobs and $901-million in tax revenue for the county over the next 20 years. 

Hanover planning commissioners cited that $901-million figure when they voted 6-1 to recommend the data center proposal on April 16, despite protest from a number of Hanover and Henrico residents at the meeting. 

“Why do you think they voted it in? Because they see those dollar signs,” said 14-year Hanover resident Kathy Sklarek, who lives just a quarter-of-a-mile from the proposed data center site.

Tract’s proposal is projected to go before the Hanover Board of Supervisors for a final vote on May 27.

“That’s going to be a real fun day guys,” Sklarek said to the supervisors at their April 22 meeting. “I’m telling you. Real fun, because we are organized, we are serious, and you will listen to us.”

‘A vote for the data center means a vote for your replacement’

Following the rally, more than a dozen protestors spoke out about their concerns to the Hanover Board of Supervisors during its April 22 board meeting. 

As opposed to the amiable atmosphere of the community rally, the board meeting featured tense encounters between speakers and supervisors, with many residents telling supervisors they were on the verge of being voted out of office.

“I’m starting to wonder if you want these jobs,” said Hanover resident Clint Robertson, who lives a few miles away from the proposed data center site. “Right now, the threat of data centers in Hanover County is the biggest topic on people’s minds. As more of these are proposed, more and more of us feel threatened.”

During the past two years, multiple data centers have been proposed or approved in Hanover, beginning with the 1,200-acre Hanover Technology Park developed by Tract nearby Ashland that was approved in March of 2024. In the fall of 2025, Hunting Hawk Technology Park was proposed near Henrico’s Wyndham community, but the developer withdrew their proposal this past January.

Other data center projects that are in progress but have not been voted on include Iron Horse Data Center and Old Ridge Road Data Center near Ashland, and Harris Farms Data Center just miles away from the Mountain Road proposal. 

Hanover residents are overwhelmingly against more data centers, said protestors; 68% of respondents to a Route 33 (Mountain Road) Small Area Plan survey said they were against data centers in the area.

“We want our county to stay rural. There’s nothing rural about this industry," Robertson said to the supervisors. “If you’re paying attention to what is happening in counties around this country where data centers have been approved, the people are outraged and replacing their representatives…apparently people are already seeking your replacements. Your positions are in your hands.”

After the first protestor finished speaking in opposition of the Mountain Road data center, audience members burst into applause – which was quickly shut down by board chairman Sean Davis (Henry District).

“We’re not going to have that either. No,” he said. “I’m sorry, you can support somebody. . . but we’re not going to have public expression of support or opposition of speakers.”

At one point, Hanover resident Madeline Farrow confronted Chickahominy District supervisor Danielle Floyd, saying the supervisor rolled her eyes when she saw that people would be speaking out against the data center.

“The chair asked, ‘How many people are planning on speaking? Please raise your hand.’ And about 15 to 20 or so people raised their hands, and I just happened to be looking at Mrs. Danielle Floyd, who made a cringing face and rolled her eyes,” Farrow said to the supervisors. “Which is honestly, wow. . . if you have somewhere else to be that is more important, please, you can go there and give your seat to somebody else.”

Speakers also cited a quote from planning commissioner Fredric McGhee (Cold Harbor District), who said during the planning commission’s approval of the Mountain Road data center: “The data centers are coming.” The disconnect between county officials and the people they represent will not be lost on residents, said Hanover resident Brandy Banton.

“I will tell you, to hear Mr. McGhee, with that velvet southern voice of his that should be narrating Civil War documentaries, tell us that he didn’t really care. . . I think there’s a serious disconnect here,” she said. “You represent us. It matters. We matter.”

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.