Blackstone-owned QTS cancels Virginia data center project after protests

In short: QTS, owned by Blackstone, has ended plans for a major data center campus in Virginia after local protests and lawsuits.

What happened

QTS said it has terminated a large proposed data center project in Prince William County, Virginia. Data centers are big buildings filled with computers that store and process data, like a physical home for the internet.

The plan, called the Prince William Digital Gateway, faced protests and legal challenges from local activists. Opponents said the site was too close to a Civil War battlefield and raised concerns about the project’s impact on the area.

QTS said the proposal went through extensive planning and public review. The company said it would have brought significant infrastructure investment to the county. Local activists celebrated the decision, including Elena Schlossberg of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County.

Why it matters

This cancellation is part of a larger pushback against data center construction across the US. Big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are expected to spend more than $400 billion on these facilities this year, partly to support growing demand for AI.

But many communities do not want them nearby. Data centers can change local landscapes and they use large amounts of electricity. A Gallup poll in May found that 71 percent of Americans oppose data center construction in their community.

Virginia, a major hub for these facilities, has also started charging a small tax of $0.011 per kilowatt-hour on electricity used by data centers. A kilowatt-hour is a standard unit on an electric bill, like counting how many gallons you used on a water meter.

Source: Financial Times