The debate over data-center growth in Northern Virginia has produced both a countywide pause and a canceled campus plan. Loudoun County voted to pause new data-center applications, while Amazon abandoned a separate plan for a data center at George Washington University’s Northern Virginia campus after reaching an agreement with local officials amid resident opposition. The county pause was reported by Axios; the agreement and abandoned campus plan were reported by The Washington Post. Photographer Stephen Voss’s project offers a view of that debate through places where data-center development meets neighborhoods and community sites.
Sites caught between construction and community
At Tippett’s Hill Cemetery, a historically Black burial ground in Sterling, Voss says data centers now border the property on three sides, compared with two when he began photographing it. Axios reported his account. Other images in Voss’s project gallery show a housing development near data centers in Arcola, fiber-optic cable along the W&OD Trail in Sterling, and construction near a baseball field in Herndon.
The gallery also documents a historic African American cemetery in Manassas where trees were cut down and gravestones toppled during construction of a nearby power substation. Voss’s site describes the approved Prince William Digital Gateway as a project expected to occupy more than 23 million square feet of building space, and a Bristow plan for as many as nine data centers across 270 acres that was approved despite local opposition.
Revenue and local concerns
The local stakes include both public revenue and concerns for people living near the facilities. Loudoun County has used substantial data-center tax revenue to fund schools, parks and recreation centers, Axios reports. Voss told the outlet that those benefits do not address the concerns of nearby residents; he favors more responsible management of development while recognizing data centers’ role in AI expansion.
The scale of development—and its effects—is a statewide issue. Virginia has nearly 400 data centers in operation and more than 280 planned, according to Virginia Mercury. The outlet reports concerns around the state about water use, noise and changes to rural areas, and says evaporative cooling systems can consume hundreds of millions of gallons of water annually.
What forecasts say about electricity demand
An independent forecast commissioned by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission projects that unconstrained power demand in Virginia would double within the next 10 years, with the data-center industry as the main driver, according to JLARC.
A photographic record under way
Voss began Dark Fiber in 2023 after noticing the concentration of data centers while driving back from a photo shoot in Ashburn, Axios reported. He first photographed the facilities themselves, then turned his attention to the places around them. Axios says he has also photographed data centers in Texas, Utah, Tennessee and Arizona for a forthcoming book, Every Past and Tomorrow, expected in early 2027.
