Plans for a massive data center near the Manassas battlefield in Northern Virginia are being scrapped, marking a major win for neighborhood groups that battled against business interests.
The massive Digital Gateway project in Prince William County was going to be the largest data center in the world. Now QTS Realty Trust and Blackstone Funds are pulling the plug. On Thursday, QTS withdrew its appeal of a court ruling overturning the project's 2023 approval.
"You know that Margaret Mead quote, 'Never underestimate what a small group of people can do to create change; it's the only thing that ever has'? This proves it!" says Elena Schlossberg of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County. "This proves truly that American democracy is alive and well 250 years later."
The fight against business interests with deep pockets and dozens of lawyers was waged by people like Oak Valley Homeowners Association president Mac Haddow, who says this is a turning point in the fight against data centers.
"I think that the environment today is dramatically different for data center operators," Haddow says. "We started out when everybody thought they were essential, they were needed, they could put them wherever they wanted. Today, that's not true. And I think that the data center operators are going to pay the price for their arrogance, and for their bullying communities."
Opponents of data centers won't have long to celebrate their win. They’re already organizing against yet another proposal in Prince William County.
