How to tell if a Virginia site has a real path to power

By Alex Delgado, Gridscout. Last updated October 25, 2026.

A substation nearby does not mean power is available. In Virginia, Dominion Energy has about 70 GW of data center requests, and only about 25 GW of that has energization dates through 2031 (Virginia Business). Before you spend on a site, check the queue history, any grid studies, flood, wetlands and zoning. A desk screen can do that in days.

Is a substation the same as capacity?

A substation is equipment. Capacity is how much more load the lines and transformers can take before something has to be upgraded. As one diligence professional put it on Reddit, "A substation a quarter mile away with no capacity left is worse than one five miles away with room" (r/datacenter).

Utilities don't publish spare load capacity for each substation. So nobody outside the utility can give you a firm number. What you can do is read the public signals around it.

What is the PJM queue, and why does it matter?

PJM runs the grid across 13 states and D.C., Virginia included. Power plants that want to connect file into PJM's interconnection queue, and each request names a point on the grid, often a substation (PJM queue).

That queue is mostly about generation coming onto the grid, not load like a data center. But it still tells you things:

• How busy the area is.

• Whether past projects pulled out after seeing their study results.

• Which upgrades were already identified.

For example, at Carson Substation in Dinwiddie County, the PJM queue lists 29 matching requests. 21 withdrew, with 10,756 MW between them (PJM queue export, October 2026). Lots of withdrawals can mean costly upgrades, though they don't prove it on their own.

How big is Dominion's backlog?

Dominion reports about 70 GW of data center requests, with about 45 GW still without a date (Virginia Business; Dominion GS-5 report). In a September 2026 PJM presentation, Dominion showed about 54 GW under signed agreements (PJM, Sept. 29, 2026).

What that means for you: asking the utility and waiting can take months. A screen helps you pick which sites are worth getting in line for.

What do grid studies tell you?

When a project enters the queue, PJM studies what it would do to the grid and lists the upgrades needed and their rough cost. Those studies are public. If a study near your site found lines that would overload, and listed big fixes, that is worth knowing early. At Carson, a 2020 study for a solar project that later withdrew found overloads and listed about $221 million in network upgrades (Gridscout sample report, from PJM study documents).

Old studies go stale as upgrades get built and projects drop out, so treat them as history.

Flood, wetlands and zoning

After power, these three are what usually sink a site.

• Flood: check FEMA flood maps for the parcel (FEMA Flood Map Service Center).

• Wetlands: check the National Wetlands Inventory (USFWS Wetlands Mapper). Only a field delineation is final.

• Zoning: rules are moving fast. Chesapeake and Virginia Beach paused new data center applications in 2026 (WHRO). Pittsylvania rezoned about 3,500 acres at its megasite to allow data centers by right (Cardinal News). Check the county ordinance and recent board agendas.

What can a desk screen tell you?

• Which substations and lines are near the site, and their voltage.

• Queue activity and withdrawals near those substations.

• Upgrades found in past grid studies.

• Flood, wetland and zoning flags.

• A plain call: worth chasing, worth a closer look, or probably not.

What it can't tell you

• A firm number for available capacity. Only the utility can give that.

• A connection date or cost.

• What's in the ground. That takes a survey, a wetland delineation and an environmental assessment.

The same Reddit commenter noted that early diligence is usually a desk exercise. A screen lets you drop weak sites before you spend months and real money on them.

Who this is for

Developers, site selectors and county economic development teams looking at land in Southside Virginia and Hampton Roads.

If you want this done for a specific site, Gridscout does a sourced Substation Snapshot in about 5 days. You can also read a sample report on Carson Substation.

This is an early desk screen from public data. It is not an engineering or interconnection study and does not guarantee a connection or capacity. Confirm with the utility and PJM before committing money.