“AWS has a significant presence in Virginia, and we are excited that AWS has chosen to continue their growth and expand their footprint across the Commonwealth,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said in a statement. “Virginia will continue to encourage the development of this new generation of data center campuses across multiple regions of the Commonwealth.”
Youngkin’s statement said “numerous localities” are under consideration for the new data center campuses and will be chosen at a later date. Neither AWS nor the Virginia Economic Development Partnership immediately responded to questions about how many locations were being considered and how many would ultimately be selected.
Data centers, which take the form of nondescript, highly secure facilities, contain hundreds or thousands of computers that act as a physical home for cloud computing and data storage.
More than 275 such facilities are believed to be located in Northern Virginia — particularly in Loudoun County, which is sometimes known as “Data Center Alley” — thanks to the region’s dense network connectivity, business-friendly policies and easy access to land and electricity.
Many local officials have touted the industry for increasing local tax revenue, but its growth has not been without controversy. As companies like AWS have gobbled up land to meet increased demand, residents have complained about noise, impacts on water and property values, and the high-voltage transmission lines needed to power the data centers.
Roger Wehner, AWS’s director of economic development, said the expansion will add to Virginia’s status as a leader in the cloud-computing industry and further cement the company’s presence in the state.
“Virginia is a world leader in innovation and cloud computing, thanks to its investment in a robust, highly-skilled workforce and emphasis on long-term public and private partnerships,” he said in a statement.
Wehner added that AWS has invested more than $35 billion in the state since establishing its first Virginia data centers in 2006. Now one of the largest private-sector employers in Virginia, Amazon is building its second headquarters in Arlington, with another $750 million in subsidies from the state potentially on the table.
This story is developing and will be updated.
