Botetourt County, Virginia
DataCentersExposed tracks 2 AI data centers in Botetourt County, Virginia — 0 operating and 2 in the pipeline, led by Alphabet Inc..
Sources: Methodology, Coverage scorecard
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated May 29, 2026
What's happening in Botetourt County
Alphabet Inc. has the largest presence in Botetourt County. We resolve project codenames and shell LLCs back to the corporate parent wherever the public record allows, so the table below names who is actually behind each site.
Below: every tracked facility in the county, the active state legislation that names it or its county, and local news. Commissioner vote records arrive in a later release; the placeholders show where that accountability data will land.
2035 Buildout Outlook
Under the model's moderate-growth scenario (5%/yr annual load growth), PNNL's IM3 model sites about 5 standardized 36 MW campuses in Botetourt County by 2035 — roughly 180 MW of new electricity demand and ~174 M gal/yr of cooling water. Under the higher-growth scenario (15%/yr) that climbs to 12 campuses (432 MW). For scale, we currently track 2 real data centers in Botetourt County.
- High growth5180 MW · ~174 M gal/yr cooling water
- Higher growth12432 MW · ~418 M gal/yr cooling water
The model assigns ~100% of these campuses' cooling to evaporative water cooling in Botetourt County (the rest to mechanical/air cooling), a split it derives from local water stress and wet-bulb temperature.
These are modeled candidate sites, not announced or permitted facilities. PNNL's IM3 model places identical 36 MW unit-campuses at feasible locations under each scenario — it shows where demand could concentrate, never a specific parcel. Figures use a market-gravity weight of 50. How the model works.
Every tracked facility
| Facility | Operator | Status | MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Data Center Troutville (Botetourt County) | Alphabet Inc. | Proposed | — |
| Greenfield DALEVILLE | — | Proposed | — |
County commissioners
How the Botetourt County board votes on each data-center matter — the rezonings, the abatements, the water permits — is built from public-meeting minutes and roll-call records. Know of a vote we should be tracking? Tell us.