Hanover County, Virginia
DataCentersExposed tracks 7 AI data centers in Hanover County, Virginia — 0 operating and 5 in the pipeline, drawing 4.2 GW of reported power demand, led by Tract.
Sources: Methodology, Coverage scorecard
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated May 29, 2026
What's happening in Hanover County
Facilities here with disclosed capacity draw 4.2 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.
Tract has the largest presence in Hanover 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 1 standardized 36 MW campus in Hanover County by 2035 — roughly 36 MW of new electricity demand and ~35 M gal/yr of cooling water. Under the higher-growth scenario (15%/yr) that climbs to 20 campuses (720 MW). For scale, we currently track 7 real data centers in Hanover County (4.2 GW of reported power).
- Low growth136 MW · ~35 M gal/yr cooling water
- Moderate growth136 MW · ~35 M gal/yr cooling water
- High growth10360 MW · ~348 M gal/yr cooling water
- Higher growth20720 MW · ~696 M gal/yr cooling water
The model assigns ~100% of these campuses' cooling to evaporative water cooling in Hanover 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tract Technology Campus Ashland | VALCO HANOVER COUNTY | Proposed | 2,400 |
| Hanover-Ashland Data Center Ashland | Tradeport Ashland Land LLC | Proposed | — |
| Ironhorse East Ashland Ashland | Harris and Douglass Properties, LLC | Proposed | — |
| LS Power Ashland | — | Proposed | — |
| WestDulles Data Center Ashland | WestDulles Properties | Proposed | — |
| Hunter Hawking Data Center Glen Allen | — | Withdrawn | 900 |
| Tract Data Center Glen Allen | Tract | Blocked | 900 |
County commissioners
How the Hanover 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.