
In this issue:
Why Save Culpeper?
January 13 Dominion Energy Open House re: Culpeper Technology Zone
January 20 General Assembly Lobby Day in Richmond
Why Save Culpeper?
Not since the Civil War has Culpeper faced such an existential threat to its natural resources and quality of life as it does today from the data center industry. This rolling thunder of behemoth warehouse-looking structures that each require an enormous amount of water and power to operate, thus negatively impacting our water supply, increasing our electrical bills and creating unhealthy noise levels, is arriving in our community faster than you can say "Culpeper Minutemen."
A group of citizens concerned by the speed of this intrusion and SEEKING FULL TRANSPARENCY from our state, county and town governments, has formed a coalition, along with many other Virginia communities, to call for industry regulation at the state level and for more civic involvement at the local level as it relates to this industry. We are not against data centers -- they are necessary to the growth of our national, state and local economies. BUT, we are against the unabated development of data centers being sited in locations that ARE NOT conducive to the health and welfare of our community.
Currently, we are targeting our efforts toward the Copper Ridge project - consisting of six data centers and proposed to be sited on land just a stone's throw away from the Mountainbrook Estates subdivision and overlooking our National Cemetery, and the Culpeper Technology Center - consisting of eight data centers and proposed to sit adjacent to Copper Ridge, abut our historic East Street neighborhood and next to a childcare center and proposed low-income housing. That's a TOTAL OF 14 DATA CENTERS, along with numerous NEW electrical substations that are needed to power them.
Come to the Dominion Energy Open House Jan 13
Dominion Energy has begun planning how to supply power to the Culpeper Technology Zone. Part of this planning process includes conducing open houses for community members to ask questions.
Dominion will hold the Culpeper open house tomorrow -- Monday, January 13th from 5:00-7:00pm -- at the Refinery (120 West Culpeper Street, Culpeper). We encourage everyone to come and ask questions!
Save Culpeper will be present outside the meeting to hand out C2SC flyers and tell you about our efforts – let us know if you are interested in helping with this by sending an email to saveculpeper@gmail.com.
Here are some important things you need to know: data centers in the Culpeper Technology Zone are anticipated to need about 2GW of new electricity. This is equivalent to a little more than what the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant currently produces. Yes, the fourteen proposed data centers will consume that amount of energy. And you -- not the data centers -- will pay for it.
Our current transmission infrastructure cannot handle that load and must be upgraded. This upgrade will potentially affect 2.7 miles of transmission lines in Culpeper and Orange and 0.7 miles of transmission lines in Fauquier. The Culpeper Technology Zone project also includes the construction of four data center substations and connecting transmission lines – you can view the proposed routes on Dominion’s map.
Our initial concern about the proposed routes is that they will bring transmission lines and substations within a few hundred feet of sensitive areas including the county-sponsored daycare/Head Start facility, Madison Station townhomes, East Street Historic District, and the planned Lightfoot low-income apartments. There has not been any discussion about burying these lines either which would reduce the visibility. The upgrades to lines in the County would impact local farms, some of which have already been saddled with lines that will now be expanded.
Please plan to attend this open house. And please pass along this newsletter to all of your friends, neighbors, colleagues and family members and ask them to attend, too.
Virginia's Data Center Industry is Unregulated
Join Us in Richmond Jan 20 to Demand Common Sense Legislation
The Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition, of which Save Culpeper is a member, will hold the first Data Center Lobby Day on Monday, January 20th (Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Day). This is an opportunity for folks to take their concerns about data centers to the next level - your state senators and house representatives.
Sign-up is free, but you do need to sign up so we can organize meetings with your district reps. There will also be a bus leaving from Manassas at 5:30 AM on the day of, but we may be able to coordinate carpooling from Culpeper if multiple folks in the area plan to attend.
We hope you will join us for this event since a strong showing from Culpeper will send a message to our representatives, some of whom sit on important committees and may have a deciding vote on key data center reform legislation.
Remember -- our heritage is the Culpeper Minutemen. We are an action-oriented community that has worked hard to create a great quality of life. Help us preserve it by making your voice heard in Richmond!