The US Civil War battlefield at the centre of a new conflict

[oldbrownhat]

Probably many of you are aware of this controversy.

The US state of Virginia saw some 50% of the nation's Civil War casualties. Now, mass construction of AI data centres is encroaching on historic lands, the environment and local communities.

BBC article here.

Technology companies are planning to erect one of the largest data centres in the world here at Manassas, Virginia, on the very ground where the Union army lost the war's first major land battle. Demand for data centres has skyrocketed as the artificial intelligence (AI) industry blossoms – but experts and advocates say the race for technological growth could threaten resources including water, energy and land. Some experts foresee a "growing crisis" for residents and future generations...

...According to the American Battlefield Trust, the 37-building complex [Prince William Digital Gateway data centre]is the largest planned data centre development on earth the world...

 

[HardToHandle]

I was working on a project that adjoined the Manassas Battlefield a few months ago. It is a fascinating story about how big data centers have become in the area.

Chances are high, astronomically high, that the data center march from the Dulles Airport area will extend southwards, with data centers flanking and eventually surrounding the battlefield.

Data centers have become an engine of investment, a growth industry and are handing over tax dollars to local officials at an unprecedented pace. This neighborhood is $10-15 million horse farms with rural housing subdivisions sprinkled around, with some cowpath type roads connecting small settlements. Housing barely pays for basic services, but a data center brings in exponentially high taxes per square foot.

The other element is the Northern Virginia area has a Silicon Valley-like environment of developers, unions and contractors that can get a data center built at budget and on time. Add in the federal angle (FBI’s cyber and the CBP HQs are located nearby), this area is like nuclear fusion for data center buildout.

The locals I was working with also noted that opposition prevented a Disneyland park in the 1990s. The folks I talked to thought this battlefield opposition was trying the same game twice, but were doubtful it would succeed.

We may have personal preferences, but this battle and the entire campaign will be won by the data centers. They’re the U.S. Grant-led Army of the Potomac fighting the Army of Northern Virginia in this analogy.

 

[DWalt]

What is certain to happen within a decade or so will be modular nuclear power plants being built next to the huge data farms. That technology is being rapidly developed right now.

 

[Phenix]

I was working on a project that adjoined the Manassas Battlefield a few months ago. It is a fascinating story about how big data centers have become in the area.

Chances are high, astronomically high, that the data center march from the Dulles Airport area will extend southwards, with data centers flanking and eventually surrounding the battlefield.

Data centers have become an engine of investment, a growth industry and are handing over tax dollars to local officials at an unprecedented pace. This neighborhood is $10-15 million horse farms with rural housing subdivisions sprinkled around, with some cowpath type roads connecting small settlements. Housing barely pays for basic services, but a data center brings in exponentially high taxes per square foot.

The other element is the Northern Virginia area has a Silicon Valley-like environment of developers, unions and contractors that can get a data center built at budget and on time. Add in the federal angle (FBI’s cyber and the CBP HQs are located nearby), this area is like nuclear fusion for data center buildout.

The locals I was working with also noted that opposition prevented a Disneyland park in the 1990s. The folks I talked to thought this battlefield opposition was trying the same game twice, but were doubtful it would succeed.

We may have personal preferences, but this battle and the entire campaign will be won by the data centers. They’re the U.S. Grant-led Army of the Potomac fighting the Army of Northern Virginia in this analogy.

Have you heard about the water usage for a Data Center?
It’s millions of gallons of water a day for evaporative cooling.
An average Data Center will use the same amount of water annually that would supply a city of 300,000 people.
What will that do to the water tables in any given area?
It is likely that a lot of people with water wells like I have will have to have them drilled deeper.

 

[greenwellg]

I would like to think that the relationship between the future and the past could be symbiotic. The historic battlefields are not great contributors to tax revenue. Data centers are great contributors to tax revenue. Can the two co-exist without loss of either? That relationship should be codified to preserve the historical significance of the past, while enhancing the future of technology. My only issue is whether the already heavy traffic situation in the area can be mitigated or modified.
Parks are fairly low intensity employers. Not so sure about data centers but that would be the focus of my concern.

 

[ridewv]

Have you heard about the water usage for a Data Center?
It’s millions of gallons of water a day for evaporative cooling.
An average Data Center will use the same amount of water annually that would supply a city of 300,000 people.

And the energy they consume. One data center can use as much electricity as 1,200,000 homes.
I wish they'd put a moratorium on the things.

 

[ladder13]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/15/real-estate-firms-race-to-put-data-centers-on-the-moon-build-space-support.html

 

[Phenix]

And the energy they consume. One data center can use as much electricity as 1,200,000 homes.
I wish they'd put a moratorium on the things.

AI is the genie out of the bottle.
We have to embrace it even though it may destroy civilization as we know it.
If we don’t get involved with It, we are handing our trading, political, and military enemies an overwhelming advantage against which we would be defenseless against.
It is a double-edged sword. It has and will allow for unbelievable advances in the medical field; but it’s adoption is planting the seeds of our own destruction. History shows us that one of the first things humans do with any new scientific or method breakthrough is to figure out how it can be used against our fellow man.
Ignore it now-destroy us sooner.
Embrace it now-destroy us later.
Those are our choices as I see it. Hope I am wrong.

 

[eb07]

I would be more worried about the impact on groundwater.

 

[Phenix]

What is certain to happen within a decade or so will be modular nuclear power plants being built next to the huge data farms. That technology is being rapidly developed right now.

The small nuclear power plants will come on line much sooner than that.
More like about 3 years or less.
I am not against the building of the smaller nuclear power plants themselves. The sooner the better as I see it.

 

[venomballistics]

And the energy they consume. One data center can use as much electricity as 1,200,000 homes.
I wish they'd put a moratorium on the things.

it's a catch 22 really. We need those centers to maintain our current civilization.
At the same time, they are potentially hungry enough to devour our civilization

 

[dockmurgw]

Another of the many reasons I live where I do.

 

[DEF3]

I’m not up to speed on any of this. Way above my pay grade. And honestly I don’t understand the AI thing and how it works. I just want to keep my white tail hunting as is. I also want a cold stream in the VT mountains with native Brookies to throw on a pan once in awhile. Again I get progress but not sure at what cost.

 

[HardToHandle]

Interesting comments. I am not in the data center business, but data centers have become a massive driving force in the tech and construction fields that they’re hard to avoid.

1) Small modular reactors will hopefully come. The first major progress was the DOD “Micro reactor” project in Alaska - https://www.eielson.af.mil/microreactor/. The Alaska project will end up being 10+ years from Congress approving funding to seeing an actual reactor on site. We need the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to actually approve a design and project to see SMRs ever powering data centers, but NRC action is a year or two out.

2) Data center design is getting much more water efficient and, to a lesser extent, power efficient. I can say with confidence that Manassas area data centers are being built there because of electric supply availability along a major transmission line. 20 miles east in Maryland, effectively no data centers are being built because of different energy policy approaches at the state level.

 

[DixieRanger]

Read with interest altho don't understand much of it. Am a dinosaur with one foot in the tarpit waiting to sink. Enjoy reading what folks with knowledge have to say. Life is good but glad biggest part is behind me. Seems the future does not have room for the past. Carry on...

 

[pantannojack]

Not long ago, well 30 years or so, Disney wanted to take over those battle areas.

 

[quikdraw67]

Not long ago, well 30 years or so, Disney wanted to take over those battle areas.

I remember that.

 

[DWalt]

Some may know that Three Mile Island will come back on line to service data center needs. Also 10 new large nuke plants are now on the drawing board, in addition to an unknown number of SMRs (small modular reactors). I firmly believe SMRs will be the real wave of the future in power generation. It’s getting a huge level of attention right now. https://www.reuters.com/sustainabil...plant-may-restart-2027-owner-says-2025-06-25/

 

[Grayfox]

Elon Musk recently opened XAI huge data center in Memphis. They've had to add extra generators for electricity which are polluting the air and are using massive amounts of water to cool the thing. Local residents are up in arms and filling multiple lawsuits. Local government is just looking at dollars and mostly ignoring complaints.

 

[LVSteve]

Elon Musk recently opened XAI huge data center in Memphis. They've had to add extra generators for electricity which are polluting the air and are using massive amounts of water to cool the thing. Local residents are up in arms and filling multiple lawsuits. Local government is just looking at dollars and mostly ignoring complaints.

Coming from England, I call this the American malaise, running places where people live as businesses. Yes, I know this isn't a popular opinion with the growth/money addicts, but I speak as I find.