Amazon cancels four AI data center projects in Loudoun County

Amazon will no longer build four new data centers in Loudoun County and will instead repurpose the land for mixed-use and residential development. This follows significant pushback from the local community. The company will also donate 25 acres of the property to the county for a community arts center and new recreational facility. It will also give $5 million to the county's fund for housing.

This is a significant change compared to plans to build in a county already dubbed 'Data Center Alley.' The county has the largest concentration of data centers on the planet. But residents' concerns about the noise generated by such data centers and the incredible amount of power that they require to function have seen the county's approach to new data center buildouts change of late.

Amazon first submitted its proposal to build the new facilities in July, and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall and Amazon met in September, where it was put to the company that it may be better to find an alternative use for the land. Josh Weissman, Amazon’s vice president in charge of data center development, said the company had jumped at the chance to purchase the former university campus when the opportunity arose, but added that the company considered the county’s 'pointed concerns about data center development at this particular site.'

Weissman added that 'While we see the property’s legal development potential differently than the County does, we concluded that the best outcome for all is to come together on a shared vision for this campus rather than engage in costly litigation.' The building of new data centers has always been a necessity given our growing use of cloud-based services and storage systems. But the recent boom in AI use has seen demand for additional, and larger, facilities ratcheted up to new levels.

Back in Loudoun County, officials pointed to what could be achieved when choosing dialog over confrontation. 'By choosing dialogue over reflexive disagreement, Loudoun County and Amazon created an opportunity for the County,' Randall reportedly said via statement. 'This agreement provides new places for our Loudoun residents to gather, create, and play. And, most importantly to me, we will provide more attainable homes for working families.'

The article said:Back in Loudoun County, officials pointed to what could be achieved when choosing dialog over confrontation. 'By choosing dialogue over reflexive disagreement, Loudoun County and Amazon created an opportunity for the County,' Randall reportedly said via statement. 'This agreement provides new places for our Loudoun residents to gather, create, and play. And, most importantly to me, we will provide more attainable homes for working families.' They're really taking a victory lap over this? Really? This is a simple math. Power grid has zero capacity remaining. Data centers cannot draw power from zero available.

NoVa (Northern Virginia) is maxed out on energy use. They cannot connect any more data centers to the power grid. This whole region slips in and out of a 'power grid emergency' based on the weather. It's so bad that the schools and other public institutions in NoVa constantly lose electricity daily according to news reports. Loudoun physically cannot install any more data centers unless they generate their own power until the new transmission lines in Southern Virginia and Maryland are built.

There is no victory here. There is no 'dialog' with the community. There is simple math, you cannot add a power-hungry set of buildings when zero power is available. We really need the federal government to step in and force a new power plant to be built in Loudoun. I don't care how loud people scream about their Potomac River views and how a new power plant would ruin them. You people made your bed; now sleep in it.

Amazon isn't doing anyone favors here, and Loudoun has not scored a victory. All they did was swap a future data center project for more overpriced luxury housing. Bravo for the Silver Line WMATA transit though, that is a legit bright spot. Reply

So Amazon didn't think to sell most to all of the land back to recoup costs? It's so laughable that anything tagged as 'AI spending' can be considered practically limitless by the tech giants as revenue is 'predicted' to continue growing fast enough to catch up with spending because 'demand is enormous.' Reply

Demand so enormous. Amazon is pushed to order and pay for billions worth of stuff from Jensen only for it to sit in warehouses because the datacenter aren't complete or able to energise them. This is so that he can do channel stuffing and keep up his beat-and-raise schtick. Never mind the impact this is having on consumer electronics across the board as a result. Reply