Google Invests $9 Billion in Three Massive Data Center Campuses Across Virginia’s Chesterfield County
June 22, 2026
Google Invests $9 Billion in Three Massive Data Center Campuses Across Virginia’s Chesterfield County
Google is set to transform Chesterfield County, Virginia, into a major hub for its cloud infrastructure, committing $9 billion to develop three sprawling data center campuses spanning a combined 1,500 acres. The projects, code-named Peanut, Skye, and Loch, represent one of the largest single investments in the county’s history and underscore the surging demand for computing power driven by artificial intelligence and cloud services.
The first campus, Project Peanut, was announced last year and is planned for Bermuda Hundred Road in the Chester area. Its zoning application is currently under review by the county, and once construction begins, the data centers are expected to take between 18 and 24 months to complete. Project Skye, located on Watkins Center Parkway in Midlothian, is slated to go online by 2028, with expansion continuing over the following six years. The third site, Project Loch, will be built on Moseley Road west of State Route 288, though its construction timeline hinges on permitting approvals.
Google has filed an application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Projects Loch and Skye, seeking permission to build in compliance with the Clean Water Act. The Loch site, adjacent to Tomahawk Creek—a feeder to the Chesapeake Bay watershed—requires special permitting. According to applications submitted by Google and developer Timmons Group, the site plan avoids impacts to perennial streams and resource protection areas. However, roughly 3,000 feet of intermittent and rain-dependent streams will be affected, along with 4 acres of wetlands. To offset the environmental damage, Google has proposed constructing approximately 11 acres of wetlands and preserving 34.2 acres at different sites within the South Anna River watershed.
Project Skye is expected to have permanent impacts on over 20 acres of wetlands and roughly 8,000 feet of streams. Timmons Group said it would purchase wetlands and stream credits—tools used to fund preservation work at other locations—to compensate for the damage. These mitigation efforts are part of a broader trend in the data center industry, where companies increasingly face regulatory scrutiny over water usage and ecological disruption.
Despite the scale of the investment, the projects have stirred controversy among local residents. Chesterfield County’s board of supervisors approved all three projects in a public vote but concealed Google’s involvement through nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). An online petition is now circulating, demanding greater accountability from the board. Mary Finley-Brook, a professor and researcher at the University of Richmond and a Chesterfield County resident, has been studying the environmental impacts of data centers and the effects of NDAs on public access to information. She first learned of Google’s plans last summer. “As I’m talking about how this is going down in other locations, it was actually happening in my own community, and I didn’t know because of a nondisclosure agreement,” she said in an interview with VPM News.
Finley-Brook and a group of residents have filed Freedom of Information Act requests for a wide range of information regarding Google’s three projects, as well as data centers proposed by another developer. She is particularly concerned that Google may have entered a deal for water service with the county that will ultimately be funded without the tech giant footing the bill for new infrastructure. “I want to have clarity from our local government,” she said. “Who is responsible for paying for this infrastructure, and what commitment did they make to Google about the construction of the water infrastructure?”
Clover Hill Supervisor Jessica Schneider, who voted to approve the three centers, acknowledged that NDAs signed in 2018 when negotiations began for Project Peanut limited transparency. She described Google as a good corporate neighbor, investing in green energy and supporting community education initiatives, but expressed frustration over the county’s tax rate for data centers. The current tax on computer equipment stands at 24 cents per $100 of assessed value, far below the statewide average of $2.50 to $3.50 per $100. “We are the lowest in the whole state,” Schneider said, adding that while she supported the three Google projects, she would not vote to approve any others in the future.
Officials with the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority have long touted the benefits of data centers, noting that over 20 years, a $1 billion data center would generate more than $71 million in combined tax revenue for the county, despite the hefty tax breaks. According to the EDA, operators also pay taxes on the property they occupy, the building, and the machinery inside. Dominion Energy has repeatedly stated that data center operators “will pay their fair share,” pointing to separate residential and industrial rates for power.
The developments in Chesterfield highlight the growing tension between the economic promise of data centers and the local concerns over environmental impact, infrastructure costs, and corporate transparency. As Google pushes forward with its $9 billion bet, the county faces a pivotal moment in balancing growth with community accountability.
Source: vpm
