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SP & H RING R OME EAL ES IM P. 2PROVEM TATE 1 ENT
VOL. 10, NO. 19
Community-Supported News. Free to all.
MARCH 20, 2025
By-Right Data Centers Eliminated BY HANNA PAMPALONI
hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan amendments that will eliminate data centers as a by-right use within the county. Historically, there have been areas where data centers are allowed on a by-right basis. This means that if an application meets standards identified in the Zoning Ordinance, it is subject only to staff-level review. Applications in areas where data centers require legislative action are reviewed by the staff and then sent to the Planning Commission for a public hearing and recommendation on whether to approve them. The plans then advance to the Board of Supervisors which also holds a public hearing before making a final determination. Now, all data center applications will be subject to that process. However, the board also carved out an allowance for data center applications submitted prior to Feb. 12, the night of the board’s public hearing on the proposed changes, to be evaluated under the regulations in place at that time. That aligns with a recommendation from the Planning Commission and supported by the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. The vote to enact the change passed BY-RIGHT DATA CENTERS continues on page 42
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now
Trash is dropped off and ground down at the Loudoun County Landfill located off Evergreen Mills Road six days a week.
County Leaders Plan to Tap Landfill Gas Through Public-Private Partnership BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
Methane gas released from the county’s landfill could be turned into renewable energy in as soon as five years. The possibility had been considered 10 years ago, but because of the relatively young nature of the county’s
landfill, it was not pursued. The idea resurfaced in 2022 when Supervisor Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) brought an initiative forward to explore public-private partnerships and green hydrogen possibilities. Loudoun’s landfill, which opened in 1971, spans 180 acres and will receive over 9 million tons of solid waste over its lifetime. Currently, it receives 200,000 tons of
waste each year and is expected to continue to do so for the next 60 years. “Whenever trash decomposes it produces a lot of gasses in particular a gas known as methane which is one of the most harmful greenhouse gas emissions LANDFILL GAS continues on page 5
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