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Culpeper County: data centers & powered land

Data center development is concentrated in the Culpeper Technology Zone (CTZ), which the county describes as a 950-acre campus.[1]

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Zoning

  • On September 2, 2025, the Board of Supervisors passed a zoning text amendment requiring a conditional use permit for new data centers on industrially zoned land outside the Culpeper Tech Zone; previously, data centers were by-right on industrial zoning.[2]
  • Already-approved CTZ projects and the under-construction Marvell campus in Stevensburg are exempt from the new conditional use permit requirement.[6]
  • The Town of Culpeper adopted a Unified Development Ordinance effective October 14, 2025, which includes a data center overlay district.[7][8]
  • The town's data center overlay restricts new data center development to areas where projects have already been approved.[3][2]
  • Inside the CTZ, data center buildings may be up to 75 feet tall; light industrial properties outside the zone are limited to 45 feet.[4]
  • The DALRO data center developer withdrew its substation application after the Planning Commission recommended denial.[3]

Power & transmission

  • Dominion Energy's Culpeper Technology Zone 230 kV project includes four new substations (Mt. Pony, McDevitt, Chandler, Palomino) and a new 230 kV transmission line; a fifth substation, Hedgehog, is in early planning.[9]
  • The project includes a new approximately 3.7-mile 230 kV double-circuit line from the proposed Mt. Pony Substation to the future Cirrus Switching Station, with a stated summer transfer capability of 1,573 MVA.[10]
  • Dominion states the project is needed to serve three data center customers developing new campuses in Culpeper County and the Town of Culpeper, with a desired in-service target of May 1, 2028.[10]
  • An earlier SCC-approved project built the Cirrus and Keyser 230 kV switching stations along Frank Turnage Drive, connecting to Rappahannock Electric Cooperative's Mountain Run substations serving an REC data center customer.[11]

Utilities

UtilityType
Dominion Energy VirginiaInvestor-owned utility
Rappahannock Electric CooperativeElectric cooperative

Campuses

CampusOperatorStatus
Equinix Culpeper Campus (CU1–CU4)EquinixOperating

Incentives & taxes

  • CTZ by-right incentive: reimbursement of 40% of taxes paid over five years per qualifying event; qualification requires a $10 million investment and 10 employees at the prevailing average wage.[4][5]
  • County tax rates listed per $100 assessed include $0.43 (real estate) and $2.00 (machinery and tools); the county has no BPOL or Merchant's Capital tax.[12]
  • ProjectionA county-commissioned impact study projects CTZ incentives of $667 million and a Data Center Retail Sales & Use Tax Exemption of $138 million cumulatively (projections).[13]

Water

  • The Town of Culpeper applied for a conditional use permit for a reclaimed water system, including a storage tower up to 205 feet, to supply treated effluent for data center cooling at the Culpeper Technology Campus.[14]
  • Water use and cooling effluent are central concerns raised by local opposition groups.[15]

Fiber

  • Existing data centers in the CTZ bring existing fiber networks, according to the county's economic development office.[1]
  • datacenterHawk lists numerous fiber providers at Equinix CU2, including Verizon Business, AT&T, Zayo, Cogent, Level 3, Segra and Crown Castle.[16]

Local sentiment

  • The Piedmont Environmental Council's 2025 policy brief states the county has approved over 12 million square feet of new data centers and asks officials to limit further approvals until full impacts are known.[17]
  • The Coalition to Save Culpeper opposes further data center development, citing water, wastewater and noise.[15]

Known gaps

  • Developments after October 2025 (new rezonings, final SCC order on the CTZ 230 kV project) have not been reviewed.
  • Parcel-level Dominion vs. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative territory boundary not mapped.
  • No public figures found for town water/sewer capacity allocated to data centers.
  • PJM interconnection queue and large-load filings not reviewed.

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Sources

  1. The Culpeper Tech Zone Story: Why Culpeper? Culpeper County Economic Development. Accessed .
  2. Culpeper Quarterly Update – Culpeper puts guardrails on data centers The Piedmont Environmental Council. Accessed .
  3. On the Ground Updates – September 2025 The Piedmont Environmental Council. Accessed .
  4. CTZ Advantages Culpeper County Economic Development. Accessed .
  5. Incentives Culpeper County Economic Development. Accessed .
  6. Support More Data Center Regulation in Culpeper County The Piedmont Environmental Council. Accessed .
  7. Town of Culpeper Unified Development Ordinance (approved 2025-10-14) Town of Culpeper. Accessed .
  8. Following 5-year process, town adopts Unified Development Ordinance Culpeper Star-Exponent. Accessed .
  9. Culpeper Technology Zone 230 kV Electric Transmission Project – Project Overview Dominion Energy. Accessed .
  10. SCC staff report – Culpeper Technology Zone 230 kV project Virginia State Corporation Commission. Accessed .
  11. SCC order – Cirrus-Keyser 230 kV Loop Virginia State Corporation Commission. Accessed .
  12. Culpeper County Taxes Culpeper County Economic Development. Accessed .
  13. Culpeper Tech Zone – Economic and Fiscal Impact Report ED Impact Analysis LLC for Culpeper County Economic Development. Accessed .
  14. Town of Culpeper reclaimed water system – conditional use permit application Town of Culpeper (via PEC). Accessed .
  15. Concerns The Coalition to Save Culpeper. Accessed .
  16. Equinix CU2 (Building B), 18155 Technology Drive datacenterHawk. Accessed .
  17. Culpeper County Policy Brief 2025 The Piedmont Environmental Council. Accessed .

17 sources cited. See the methodology for how facts are selected and reviewed.