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Data centers in Caroline County, Virginia: 9 projects mapped
Caroline County sits on Interstate 95 between Fredericksburg and Richmond, and with space in Northern Virginia at a premium it has begun to attract data center developers. On August 12, 2025 the Board of Supervisors approved a performance agreement with a CleanArc Data Centers subsidiary for a 650-acre campus on the old Virginia Bazaar flea market grounds just east of I-95 off Exit 110: three buildings of 490,000 square feet each, with the possibility of two more. Bowling Green District Supervisor Jeff Sili cast the only vote against. The county expects more than $13 million a year in tax from it, about 17 percent of its general fund, which it said would be needed for schools, fire engines, ambulances, deputies and water and sewer upgrades. CleanArc puts the campus at 900 megawatts in three 300-megawatt phases running from 2027 into the mid-2030s, and no potable water is to be used for cooling.
The county has also turned one down: a 900-acre campus proposed by VALCO on land along Mount Airy Drive beside the North Anna River, west of the interstate. It had been defeated twice by the planning commission and once by the board, then brought back at the request of Madison District Supervisor Clay Forehand, who argued a single campus would bring the tax of eight to ten distribution centers without the trucks. "I call it the zombie project," said resident Kevin Collins, "because it keeps popping up out of the grave on us." On June 18, 2024 supervisors rejected the plan amendment 5-1, saying there was plenty of land already zoned industrial; the county's planning director noted 1,848 acres of undeveloped industrial land east of the interstate in the Carmel Church Growth Area. "We have rezoned a number of parcels for industrial use that still have not produced any development," Sili said. VALCO withdrew its rezoning request.
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Amazon's Mattameade campus, planned as eleven two-story buildings on about 1,143 acres southeast of the I-95 and Mudd Tavern Road intersection, straddles the line with Spotsylvania County. Its federal wetlands permit application proposes buying wetland and stream credits to offset the damage, and includes three substation pads; a consultant's letter attached to it says the project allows for at least roughly 770 megawatts of capacity by 2027. Six more filings sit around Ruther Glen and Ladysmith: ADP's Ladysmith Data Hub and its approved Carmel Church Data Hub, the Caroline Center for Innovation, Thornberry Data Center Campus, Bull Church Data Center and Ladysmith Technology Park, all still proposed with no power figures made public.
Water has already shaped the county's own plans. In November 2024 the Board of Supervisors dropped industrial cooling water from its application to the state Department of Environmental Quality to withdraw water from the Rappahannock River. Friends of the Rappahannock has warned that data centers can use millions of gallons of water a day for cooling.
Data center projects on record in Caroline County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Ruther Glen7
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CleanArc VA1 Data Center CampusRuther Glen | CleanArc | Under construction | 900 MW | |
| ADP Ladysmith Data HubRuther Glen | ADP Ladysmith Data Hub, LLC | Proposed | Not reported | |
| Carmel Church Data HubRuther Glen | ADP Carmel Church Data Hub, LLC | Approved | Not reported | |
| Caroline Center for InnovationRuther Glen | Not reported | Proposed | Not reported | |
| Caroline Center for Innovation - NorthRuther Glen | STACK Infrastructure (SAC III Acquisition Co., LLC) | Withdrawn | Not reported | |
| Thornberry Data Center CampusRuther Glen | Thornberry, LLC | Proposed | Not reported | |
| VALCO Data Center ParkRuther Glen | VALCO | Withdrawn | Not reported |
Elsewhere in Caroline County2
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bull Church Data Center | NRD Retail, LLC | Proposed | Not reported | |
| Ladysmith Technology Park | Mattan Ladysmith, LLC | Proposed | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.