Sterling Residents Raise Alarms Over Off-Grid Data Center

Sterling residents are raising concerns over the impacts of a data center that is operating independently from the region’s power grid – making it the county’s first data center with its own microgrid.

The Vantage II data center is located along Glenn Drive and is bordered by a federal government building and an auto dealership. Nearby are are homes where residents say they now live with constant noise has interrupted their sleep, working hours and recreational time.

Noise complaints from data centers situated near homes is not a new issue in Loudoun, which is home to the world’s largest concentration of the computer hubs. But the constant nature of the noise – driven by gas turbines which run 24/7 – is. The rest of the county’s data centers are powered by connecting to the regional electric grid through power lines. They keep diesel generators as backup power options in case power transmission is interrupted or the grid becomes overwhelmed. Exponential growth in the industry’s demand for power has resulted in a multi-year backlog for new centers attempting to connect to the grid.

Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest utility provider, is required by law to provide power to each customer, but if that power capacity does not exist, the customer is added to a waitlist.

That is the case of the Vantage data center, which has an approved site plan allowing three data center buildings. The site plan allows eight natural gas turbines to be constructed in one of those buildings to power the center until the utility has the capacity to connect it to the grid.

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