Data Centers In ‘Spy Country’ Northern Virginia Face Seven-Year Hookup Wait

Since the beginning of the digital age, most of the world’s internet data has flowed through massive data centers in Northern Virginia. The area is known as “Data Center Alley” because it’s home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers. Some call the area ‘spy country’ because of the number of data centers used by the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies. 

The proliferation of AI data centers across Virginia’s Loudoun County has created a massive bottleneck of delayed hookups for large data centers by energy supplier Dominion Energy. 

According to Bloomberg, because of the surge in hookup requests, data centers that require more than 100 megawatts of electricity could take one to three years and/or as long as seven years to be wired into the local power grid. 

The longer wait time applies only to large data centers that need more than 100 megawatts of electricity and won’t affect projects that have already been evaluated, according to a letter the company’s transmission arm sent its regulated utility as well as co-ops and local utilities. Almost all loads that big in Dominion’s territory are data centers. -BBG

Dominion’s ability to beef up the power grid and supply data centers with additional load capacity appears to be challenged by the artificial intelligence boom. A presentation by the power company in June showed power demand by data centers in Virginia soared by 500% from 2013 to 2022. 

Mid-Atlantic grid operator PJM Interconnection now requests Dominion to provide a 15-year data center forecast instead of a five-year outlook because of soaring power demand. The rise in power isn’t just due to AI data centers but also other electrification trends, including electric vehicles and 5G technology. 

In a recent note, S&P Global showed that about 80% of the data center industry in Virginia is centered around Loudoun County. 

The rapid acceleration of AI data centers has hit its first major hurdle: power companies are facing massive backlogs, delaying timely hookups.