The developers for a proposed data center in Pittsylvania County answered questions from Chatham residents Monday night, and if the first gathering was any indication, representatives from Balico, a Herndon-based oil and gas company, will face a full house in Java on Tuesday.
The company submitted an application to rezone more than 2,200 acres across multiple parcels in Pittsylvania County, taking advantage of the existing Mountain Valley Pipeline infrastructure.
The proposal will go before the county planning commission at its Nov. 7 meeting, where there will also be a public hearing. The commission will recommend approval or denial of the proposal to the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors.
County officials are also expected to attend the meetings.
The first meeting was Oct. 28 at Pittsylvania County Community Center in Chatham, and the second is Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Riceville Missionary Baptist Church at 6 p.m.
A full house in Chatham
Over 100 residents attended the Monday meeting, many of them standing at the back of the room because every seat was filled.
Balico managing member Irfan Ali gave a brief presentation, saying that the Mountain Valley Pipeline was a major draw for his company to pursue this project in Pittsylvania County.
The data center industry is growing by “leaps and bounds,” he said, but supplying power remains a challenge for large campuses.
The pipeline’s supply of natural gas will help power the data center, Ali said.
Ali’s presentation was followed by over two and a half hours of questions from residents about traffic, noise and light pollution, home property value, and visual aesthetics.
Residents expressed their strong opposition to the project, which several called a “monstrosity,” because it does not fit in with the rural farmland of the county, they said. 
Resident Terry Stafford said she was upset that she was just hearing about this project, when conversations between Balico and the county began months ago.
“I don’t like surprises, boys, I really don’t,” Stafford said to Ali and Robert Tucker, the board of supervisors member who represents the district where the project is proposed.
Ali also answered questions about emissions, his own background, and the timeline for the project.
A brief history of data centers in the commonwealth
This is the second data center proposal the county has seen this year.
In July, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the first project, located in Ringgold, despite strong resident opposition.
Data centers are large, warehouse-like buildings that house computers and networking equipment used to store and send data. It’s usually on a large scale for business, military and governments, but data centers also allow for fast and reliable connectivity for everyday users who are texting, sending emails and using social media.
Virginia is home to 150 data centers — or about 35% of all known hyperscale data centers worldwide — making it the largest data center market in the world.
Almost all of them are located in Northern Virginia, with a part of Loudoun County earning the moniker “Data Center Alley.” Data centers in Mecklenburg County and Lynchburg are the closest such developments to Pittsylvania County.
In recent months, Southwest Virginia economic development officials also have repeatedly said that they want to attract data centers to their region.
The Ringgold data center, which will be built out over about a decade, could represent up to $5 billion in investment and contribute up to $120 million in tax revenue over a 10- to 15-year period. It could also bring up to 500 jobs to the county.
These numbers are not confirmed, said Matt Rowe, economic development director for the county, and it’s too early for exact figures.
Balico’s proposal involves a data center campus with a dedicated 3,500-megawatt power source.
The company says this project will help the region attract “skilled, high-paying jobs at data centers that will train and retain local talent.”
