Project Hercules (Avaio Digital, Appomattox) data center, Appomattox, Virginia

Project Hercules, a $3 billion data center campus that AVAIO Digital plans on 452 acres at 267 Industrial Park Lane in Appomattox, has split Appomattox County, Virginia, since residents learned of it in early 2026. The Appomattox County Board of Supervisors has voted for a performance agreement with AVAIO, the Lynchburg News & Advance reported on September 3, 2026, but the vote was not an approval of the data center itself, which is allowed by right at the site.

The county's Economic Development Authority agreed in December 2024 to sell the vacant parcel in its industrial park to Avaio Digital Partners, of Stamford, Connecticut, for about $4.5 million, or $10,000 an acre. The site is reached from U.S. 460 and Virginia 26, just north of the town of Appomattox, and Avaio said then that it would have access to 300 megawatts of power from Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Dominion Energy. The campus would have six buildings and, the EDA says, 200 to 250 jobs. AVAIO says the facility is projected to be energized in 2027; the company has several data centers in development but none yet running. The county estimates the project would generate approximately $17 million in tax revenue.

Neighbors say the decisions were made before they knew. "Our announcement came by our local government after decisions had already been quietly made behind closed doors," said Susan Walton, who owns land next to the site. Carol Stratton, 75, who lives half a mile away, said residents rely on private wells and that her biggest fear is noise: "24/7, 365, droning from these mega data centers." Residents also pointed out that baseball fields, soccer fields and a playground are within half a mile, and that Appomattox buys its water from Campbell County under a contract that expires in 2029. A group of residents began raising money in February 2026 to hire an attorney.

Hundreds attended an EDA information meeting on March 23, 2026, at which there was no public comment period. Resident Daniel Henry wants the jobs: "We need anything we can get as far as jobs go." Another resident, Harry Franklin Jr., said: "I'm afraid it might take too much water." AVAIO spokesperson John Delacio said the project would use less water and make less noise than local restrictions allow and would not raise residents' power bills, while EDA chair Garet Bosiger said one data center would use as much water as 15 houses. Dominion Energy would still have to supply an additional 250 megawatts, which will require new infrastructure. Robin Foutz, who lives a mile and a half away, put the residents' complaint about process this way: "We've elected you. We voted for you to make these decisions, and so I think that is where our area has missed the mark." Bosiger answered: "Now, you can't negotiate with businesses in the public."

Because data centers are permitted by right at the site, the project needed no special permit or public hearing from the supervisors, and Board Chairman John Hinkle said they had no authority to stop it and focused instead on negotiating protections for how it would run. The performance agreement lets AVAIO receive annual payments based on the tax revenue the project generates once the county begins collecting it; Supervisor Trevor Hipps cast the only vote against it.

Neighboring localities have moved the other way: Campbell and Amherst counties and Lynchburg have changed their zoning rules to require additional approvals for future data center projects. When the Appomattox deal was announced, AVAIO listed two other Virginia projects in development, at Ladysmith and Ruther Glen in Caroline County.

The next chance for the public to weigh in is the state air permit: an AVAIO subsidiary has applied to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for a permit covering the backup generators planned for the site, with a public comment period scheduled to begin September 11, 2026 and a DEQ decision expected by mid-December. Locally, the county Economic Development Authority owns and sells the land and the Board of Supervisors controls the incentives, and the county has set up an email address, [email protected], for residents' questions.