(Chatham) — A northern Virginia group that wants to bring a large power plant and data centers to the heart of Pittsylvania County is meeting with the neighbors this week.
Herndon-based Balico is asking the county rezone 2,230 acres in the Chalk Level community from residential and agricultural to industrial. Balico CEO Irfan Ali says the centerpiece would be a 350 megawatt gas-fired power plant, fueled by the nearby Mountain Valley Pipeline. It would use more than 400,000 decatherms of natural gas each day.
“This is a unique opportunity for Pittsylvania County to take advantage of having the terminus of the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” Ali said.
The rest of the sprawling campus would include over 70 data centers, each needing a lot of power to operate. “We will convert molecules into electrons, and electrons into data,” Ali added.
According to information posted on the Pittsylvania County Planning website, 13 acres of the campus will be set aside for a switching yard, an electric substation and a wastewater treatment plant.
Ali says modern-day power plants are NOT environmentally hostile like those in the past. “They are very low-profile, very quiet,” Ali said. “You’ll nothing more than steam coming out of the stacks.”
And he says landscaping would help shield the power plant, data centers and other facilities from the neighbors. “We plan to use berms and put up additional trees and other natural barriers,” Ali said.
Ali adds that there are very few residents in the general area now and traffic is already low. He says a traffic study from the Virginia Department of Transportation will not be needed until they enter phase two of their development. “But our plan is to be very sensitive to those who do live close by,” Ali said.
What’s in it for Pittsylvania County? Ali says it’s too early to tell right now, but the anticipation is for local tax revenues eventually adding up to ten digits or more. “The buildout will take years, but it is easy to see where we will be talking about billions of dollars for the county over the life of this project,” Ali said.
In addition to the staggering local tax revenue projections, Ali says the campus will also mean more than a few high-paying jobs. “The power plant will operate 24-7 with some on-site supervision, but it will mostly be monitored off-site,” he said. “But the data centers will generate somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 or more jobs.”
Balico will hold two sessions this week to give residents more information about the project. Neighbors are planning a meeting at Mill Creek Community Church on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors approved a permit for the county’s first data center on South Boston Road just east of the city limits.
Photo courtesy Will Pace