For Immediate Release – December 11, 2025
For more information contact Lisa Goodnight at [email protected] or 301-450-1478, or Nature Forward Communications Director [email protected] 301-450-1458
Chevy Chase, MD – In a unanimous ruling, Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors dealt a huge blow to residents and communities negatively impacted by data centers and their associated energy infrastructure, electrical substations.
With minimal discussion during its Dec. 9 vote, the Board systematically dismantled recommendations from both County staff and the Planning Commission. Board members stripped away stronger protections for residents who live next to proposed substations by eliminating larger setbacks and denying meaningful opportunities for additional public hearings.
“It was shocking to watch the Board reject recommendations to protect residents – recommendations endorsed by both staff and their own Planning Commission,” said Nature Forward Northern Virginia Advocate Renee Grebe “Substations are a necessary part of municipal infrastructure, but they have to be built in the right places, not simply dropped in any open space. We need a stronger, forward-thinking approach that considers the well-being of Virginians.”
Staff told the Planning Commission back in October that there have been applications for eight new substations in the past ten years. Seven of those applications have been related to data centers. “When talking about substations, we are inextricably linked to talking about data centers. Data centers are driving the demand and putting enormous pressure on both our grid and our communities. This drastically weakened ZOA fails to protect residential communities situated directly next to industrial areas,” Grebe said.
All substations still go through a 2232 process which provides the opportunity for a public hearing with the Planning Commission. With the Board’s apparent willingness to rollback Planning Commission recommendations should a developer appeal Planning Commission 2232 decisions, prospects for meaningful change are minimal.
Grebe said that Plaza 500’s by-right data center and substation proposal should have been a wake-up call that the zoning ordinances needed stronger protections for communities. But the Board’s unwillingness to ensure communities in similar situations would be protected in the future is shocking. Nature Forward appreciates Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s attempt to increase setbacks and his expression of concern over the likelihood that scenarios like Plaza 500 could happen again and again throughout the county. Nature Forward shares his concerns, particularly against the backdrop of weakened Policy Plan guidance for data centers.
“With the Board showing no interest in the balanced approach of both staff’s original language and the Planning Commissions’ recommendations, we are beyond dismayed, but we will continue to fight for our environment and our communities,” Grebe said. “Nature Forward will continue to ask our leaders to do the right thing for the environment and our communities and future generations.”
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About Nature Forward: Throughout its history, Nature Forward, first established in 1897 as the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia, has championed nature for all by playing a pivotal role in conserving our region’s iconic natural places from development including the C&O Canal, Dyke Marsh and, most recently, Ten Mile Creek. Past member and board president, Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, is credited with launching the now global environmental movement. Nature Forward’s nature experts provide hundreds of opportunities each year for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy, learn about, and protect the environment.