Virginia Power & Sites Weekly, Issue 1

Week of Oct 25, 2026

Hi, I'm Alex. I used to fly surveillance planes in the Navy, and now I track power and land for data centers in Southside Virginia and Hampton Roads. This is a free weekly roundup of what changed, with a link for every item.

Hampton Roads is pausing

Chesapeake passed an 8-month pause on new data center applications in July, then ended by-right data centers. Projects there now need a conditional use permit in M-1 or M-2 zones, with an exception for the CoVAC area. Virginia Beach set a 12-month pause in August.

• Virginia Business on the Chesapeake pause

• WHRO on Chesapeake and Virginia Beach

• Chesapeake's ordinance page

Pittsylvania went the other way

In January, Pittsylvania County rezoned 3,500 acres at the Berry Hill megasite so data centers and power generation are allowed by right. Stack's Project Crossroads there plans 21 buildings and up to about 3,000 MW, "mostly generated on-site." On Oct 19, residents at a rally in Danville called for a statewide pause, citing power bills, water and drought.

• Cardinal News on the rezoning

• Cardinal News on Stack's plan

• WDBJ7 on the Danville rally

Dominion's line is long

Data centers have asked Dominion for about 70 GW. About 25 GW has energization dates through 2031. The other 45 GW or so has no date yet.

• Virginia Business on the SCC filing

• Dominion's GS-5 large load report

What I'm watching

How Southside counties handle zoning next, and whether more sites follow Stack and plan their own power.

If you ever want a closer look at one site's power picture, that's what I do at loonausa.com/gridscout. Either way, thanks for reading.

Alex