More Than 1,300 People Petition Governor To Oppose Plaza 500 Substation: Community Group

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA – A coalition organized to stop Dominion Energy and Starwood Capital from building a data center and substation within 100 feet of residential property in Fairfax County says more than 1,300 individuals and 29 organizations have signed a letter asking the state's governor to publicly oppose the project.

The Save Bren Mar Coalition, an organization of residents of the Bren Mar Park neighborhood near the Alexandria city line where the planned data center would be located, says 1,312 individuals and 29 organizations signed a letter to Governor Abigail Spanberger over the weekend, asking her to publicly support denial of the Edsall Data Center Substation application before the Fairfax County Planning Commission votes on it on September 24.

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Among the groups that have signed the letter are homeowners associations, state and local conservation groups, political parties and businesses.

What Is Planned For Plaza 500?

The proposed data center is a project by Starwood Capital Group planned for the old Plaza 500 office park on 6295 Edsall Road in Lincolnia, Fairfax County, near the Alexandria city line. The Save Bren Mar Coalition has opposed the project for years, saying the data center's substation would be within 67 feet of residential property.

Fairfax County's site-plan record describes a two-building, 461,444-square-foot data center that would require a new five-acre substation and nearly a mile of new overhead 230-kilovolt transmission line.

The data center is allowed by right, but the county can reject the necessary substation. Virginia law requires public facilities, including electrical substations, to have a public hearing and review to determine their compatibility with area guidelines established in Fairfax County's Comprehensive Plan. The process is known as a Public Facilities 2232 Review.

The group also points out that Spanberger's government announced on August 5 that Virginia's utility regulator has ordered Dominion Energy to develop a new tariff to ensure that data centers cover most of the costs of the transmission infrastructure they require. The order is intended to prevent precisely the outcome Fairfax County residents face: paying for energy infrastructure they don't want to serve a private entity's needs.

Other State And Local Officials Have Stated Their Opposition

Fairfax's Mason District supervisor, Andres Jimenez, has come out in opposition to the project, as has Congressman Don Beyer, who represents the district, and the Alexandria City Government.

The letter asks Spanberger to publicly oppose the substation's 2232 application and to ask Dominion Energy and Starwood Capital to seriously evaluate using the existing Van Dorn substation for their needs, as well as support the Board of Supervisors if Dominion appeals a rejection of the application.

More than 100 residents attended an informational meeting between Dominion Energy and the Mason District Land Use Committee on July 28 to hear the company's plans and express their concerns about the substation. Residents shared photos of a standing-room-only gathering.

Fairfax County's Mason District Land Use Committee is scheduled to make its recommendation on the substation on September 22, with a full Planning Commission hearing and a formal decision scheduled for September 24.