Caroline County, Virginia
DataCentersExposed tracks 13 AI data centers in Caroline County, Virginia — 0 operating and 13 in the pipeline, drawing 1.1 GW of reported power demand, led by Amazon.com, Inc..
Sources: Methodology, Coverage scorecard
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated May 29, 2026
What's happening in Caroline County
Facilities here with disclosed capacity draw 1.1 GW from the local grid. Data-center load on this scale is the single biggest driver of recent capacity-market price increases — costs that flow through to every ratepayer in the service territory, not just the operators.
Amazon.com, Inc. has the largest presence in Caroline 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 2 standardized 36 MW campuses in Caroline County by 2035 — roughly 72 MW of new electricity demand and ~70 M gal/yr of cooling water. Under the higher-growth scenario (15%/yr) that climbs to 7 campuses (252 MW). For scale, we currently track 13 real data centers in Caroline County (1.1 GW of reported power).
- High growth272 MW · ~70 M gal/yr cooling water
- Higher growth7252 MW · ~244 M gal/yr cooling water
The model assigns ~100% of these campuses' cooling to evaporative water cooling in Caroline 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Data Service: Orrock Rd Woodford | Amazon.com, Inc. | Proposed | 770 |
| ADP Ladysmith Data Hub Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| Airlee Industrial and Data Center Site Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| Bull Church Data Center | — | Proposed | — |
| Carmel Church Data Hub Ruther Glen | W & F PARTNERS | Proposed | — |
| Carmel Technology & Enterprise Center Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| Caroline Center for Innovation Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| Caroline Center for Innovation - North Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| Ladysmith Technology Park | — | Proposed | — |
| Thornberry Data Center Campus Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| VALCO Data Center Park Ruther Glen | — | Proposed | — |
| VALCO Data Center Park Ruther Glen | VALCO CAROLINE COUNTY | Proposed | — |
| CleanArc Data Center (VA1) Ruther Glen | CleanArc | Under construction | 300 |
County commissioners
How the Caroline 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.