Markets / N. Virginia
C&W 2026 Americas · Primary #3 · updated 2026-11-05
Virginia: Northern Virginia + Richmond
The biggest market is the most constrained. Only 10.8 MW is available, Loudoun has frozen applications for 12 months, there is a new per-kWh tax, and Dominion's wait runs multiple years. Existing grandfathered and powered positions just became scarcer and more valuable. New greenfield entitlements are effectively paused in Loudoun.
coolingGrid: Dominion Energy (PJM); NOVEC; Rappahannock Electric
CBRE H1 2026: largest North American market by inventory (4,496.5 MW) [Cushman & Wakefield, 2026 Global Data Center Market Comparison (Americas rankings) (2026-05); CBRE, North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (2026-08)]
Power and the queue
- CBRE H1 2026: 4,496.5 MW inventory, 0.24% vacancy, 10.8 MW available, 2,420.2 MW under construction. All 2026 deliveries already committed. [CBRE, North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (2026-08); Data Center Frontier: CBRE record construction fails to ease capacity crunch (2026-08)]
- Dominion's new GS-5 large-load rate class takes effect Jan 1, 2027, with 14-year service commitments and minimum charges. [Dominion Energy: GS-5 Large Load Rate Class report (2026-11-05)]
- A third-party estimate puts the median wait in Loudoun's pending queue at 5.7 years. Dominion has not published a per-request queue.uncertain [WattStreet: Loudoun County data center power queue (third-party estimate) (2026-11-05)]
- FERC accepted PJM's Large Load definition and registry (ER26-3515), effective Oct 12, 2026, and rejected the rest of the filing. The registry is not a public per-request queue. [FERC order ER26-3515 on PJM Large Load definition and registry (2026-10-09)]
Notable projects owners where public
- PW Digital Gateway (Prince William County): the rezoning approvals were voided and the parcels reverted to prior zoning. The comp-plan amendment stands, and any new rezoning has to start over. [Prince William County: PW Digital Gateway status page (2026-11-05)]
Regulatory posture incentives, moratoria, zoning, water, large-load rules
- Loudoun County: on Sep 16, 2026 the Board voted 7-1 for a 12-month pause on new data center applications, effective immediately. A formal resolution was due Oct 20, and we have not confirmed its adoption. [DCD: Virginia's Loudoun County board votes to pause new data center applications (2026-09-18)]
- Loudoun already removed by-right data center zoning on Mar 18, 2025. An effort to revoke grandfathering for pending projects was tabled after lawsuit-exposure warnings. [Loudoun County: Data Centers, Land Use Considerations (2026-11-05); Loudoun Now: Loudoun's effort to curb data center growth dies during board meeting (grandf (2026-11-05)]
- Virginia's 2026-28 budget adds a temporary $0.011/kWh electricity consumption tax on data centers from Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2028, capped at $600M a year. The sales-tax exemption was kept. [Virginia budget HB30 (reenrolled) Item 3-5.24: Data center electricity consumption tax (2026-06-29); Virginia Mercury: Virginia has a new two-year budget. Here's what lawmakers now require of (2026-06-30); VEDP: Data Center Retail Sales and Use Tax Exemption (2026-11-05)]
- Fairfax County zoning (Sep 10, 2024): 200-ft setbacks from residential districts, generator distance rules, and noise studies. [Fairfax County: Board approves data center zoning ordinance amendment (2024-09-11)]
- 2026 state laws: HB153/SB94 require a sound-profile site assessment, and HB496/SB553 add water-use reporting. HB1515 (no approvals until interconnection requests are fulfilled, or Jul 2028) was continued to 2027. [Moratorium Nation dataset (M. Bommarito, CC BY 4.0), current through Sep 23, 2026 (2026-09-23); NCSL: Which States Are Banning Data Centers? (updated Sep 15, 2026) (2026-09-15)]
Pending legislation and actions 4 items
| Date | Jurisdiction | Item | Status | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-06 | Virginia state | HB1515 (2026) Proposed a temporary local approval moratorium until the earlier of fulfillment of pending data center interconnection requests or 2028-07-01. | pending | medium | [LIS Legislation Event History API - HB1515 (2026, LegislationID 101057)] |
| 2026-02-12 | Virginia state | HB503 (2026) Would prevent utility costs substantially related to serving data center customers of 100 MW or more from being recovered from non-data-center customers unless rates substantially recover those costs from data centers. | pending | low | [LIS Legislation Event History API - HB503 (2026, LegislationID 99308)] |
| 2026-02-12 | Virginia state | SB466 (2026) Would prohibit recovery from other customers of distribution infrastructure costs primarily serving data centers. | pending | low | [LIS Legislation Event History API - SB466 (2026, LegislationID 100440)] |
| 2026-02-11 | Virginia state | HB641 (2026) Proposed a Virginia's Great Outdoors Act and a data center land conservation tax of $3 per square foot of data center facility footprint. | pending | low | [LIS Legislation Event History API - HB641 (2026, LegislationID 99453)] |
In force / enacted 14 items
| Date | Jurisdiction | Item | Status | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-01-01 | Dominion Energy Virginia utility | GS-5 large-load rate classuncertain A separate class effective Jan 1, 2027, with 14-year service commitments and minimum charges. | enacted | high | [Dominion Energy: GS-5 Large Load Rate Class report (2026-11-05)] |
| 2026-10-09 | PJM (13 states + DC) utility | FERC order ER26-3515: PJM Large Load definition and registry FERC accepted the definition and registry, effective Oct 12, 2026, and rejected the rest of the filing. The registry is not a public per-request queue. | enacted | high | [FERC order ER26-3515 on PJM Large Load definition and registry (2026-10-09)] |
| 2026-09-16 | Loudoun County county | 12-month pause on new data center applicationsuncertain The Board voted 7-1 for a pause effective immediately, to revise regulations. A formal resolution was due Oct 20. | in force | high | [DCD: Virginia's Loudoun County board votes to pause new data center applications (2026-09-18)] |
| 2026-08-05 | Prince William County county | PW Digital Gateway rezonings voideduncertain The rezoning approvals are void and the parcels reverted to prior zoning. Any new rezoning has to start over. | in force | high | [Prince William County: PW Digital Gateway status page (2026-11-05)] |
| 2026-07-28 | Montgomery County county | Expedited Bill 19-26 (Department of Permitting Services barred from issuing data center permits during the moratorium) paired with Zoning Text Amendment 26-01 (prohibits hyperscale data centers county Council intends to use the 18-month period to develop comprehensive data-center development guidelines in coordination with state officials. Duration: 18 months from the bill's effective date (specific calendar end date not stated in the press release) | in force | high | [Council Approves 18-Month Data Center Moratorium and Places Limitations on Data Center Dev] |
| 2026-07-06 | Front Royal town | Resolution Establishing a Temporary Ninety (90) Day Moratorium on the Acceptance of Data Center Land Use Applications, adopted 6-0 by Front Royal Town Council at its July 6, 2026 work session. Town At Front Royal Town Council adopted a 90-day administrative moratorium on data center land-use applications while it drafts a permanent zoning prohibition. Duration: 90 days from adoption (to approximately 2026-10-04). | in force | high | [https://www.frontroyalva.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07062026-1476] |
| 2026-07-01 | Frederick County county | Executive Order No. 05-2026 (effective 2026-09-14, signed by County Executive Jessica Fitzwater), which supersedes and extends Executive Order 04-2026 (effective 2026-07-01, following the Maryland Sup Pause intended to allow community engagement and to await the State's forthcoming data-center impact report before further zoning action. Duration: Through 2027-07-01 (or until superseded/terminated earlier), per Executive Order No. 05-2026, effective 2026-09- | in force | high | [County Executive Rejects Community Benefits Agreement (2026-09-14)] |
| 2026-06-29 | Virginia state | 2026-28 budget, HB30 Item 3-5.24: data center electricity consumption tax Temporary $0.011/kWh tax on data center electricity, including self-supply, from Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2028, capped at $600M a year with pro-rata refunds. The sales-tax exemption was kept. | enacted | high | [Virginia budget HB30 (reenrolled) Item 3-5.24: Data center electricity consumption tax (2026-06-29)] |
| 2026-06-01 | Howard County county | CB31-2026 (the S.M.A.R.T. Siting Act) County Council passed CB31-2026 as amended on 2026-06-01; County Executive Calvin Ball signed it 2026-06-04; it took effect 2026-08-04 and, unless superseded by earlier zoning legislation, remains in force through 2027-11-02. Duration: Ends at the earliest spe | in force | high | [Queen Anne's County joins 5 other Maryland counties fighting against data center developme (2026-06-04)] |
| 2025-09-16 | Prince George's County county | CR-098-2025; Executive Order 1-2026; underlying task force created by CR-016-2025 As of 2026-07-31, no comprehensive data-center zoning ordinance has been enacted. Instead, the Council extended the temporary pause via CR-066-2026 (2026-07-07, two years). A competing zoning proposal by Councilmember Wanika Fisher to permit data centers in sp | in force | high | [Prince George's County Council - Reference No. CR-066-2026 (2026-07-07)] |
| 2026-04-13 | Virginia state | HB153 (2026) Adds Va. Code section 15.2-2209.4. Requires localities to obtain a sound-profile site assessment for new high energy use facilities of 100 MW or more near homes or schools within 500 feet; allows optional review of water, agriculture, parks, historic sites, an | enacted | medium | [LIS Legislation Event History API - HB153 (2026, LegislationID 98797)] |
| 2026-04-13 | Virginia state | HB496 (2026) Requires registered water users that provide offsite water to report potable and reclaimed water volumes supplied to data centers with DEQ air permits, along with other use categories where available. | enacted | medium | [LIS Legislation Event History API - HB496 (2026, LegislationID 99301)] |
| 2026-04-13 | Virginia state | SB94 (2026) Companion / identical enacted high energy use facility site-assessment bill; incorporated SB130. | enacted | medium | [LIS Legislation Event History API - SB94 (2026, LegislationID 98848)] |
| 2024-09-10 | Fairfax County county | Data center zoning ordinance amendment 200-ft residential setbacks, generator distance rules and noise studies. | in force | medium | [Fairfax County: Board approves data center zoning ordinance amendment (2024-09-11)] |
Pricing & supply snapshot directional
MW Desk estimate / directional range, Q4 2026
Asking-rate bands below are MW Desk directional estimates in USD per kW-month. They are rounded ranges, not quoted rates, and they go stale quickly.
- Retail colo (roughly 0–250 kW): $150–355/kW-mo
- Wholesale (roughly 250 kW–4 MW): $100–270/kW-mo
- Large / hyperscale blocks (roughly 4 MW+): $105–220/kW-mo
- Vacancy band: under 0.5% (extremely tight)
- Commissioned inventory (directional): ~6.5–7.2 GW
- Available power (directional): ~15–40 MW
- Under construction: ~430–520 MW
- Planned pipeline: ~12.5–13.0 GW
- Absorption: solid positive absorption
- Power / timing: Immediate powered shell is scarce; expect multi-year waits for net-new large-load service in constrained pockets.
Blends Northern Virginia with Richmond; NOVA dominates inventory and vacancy.
Indicative only. Ranges are rounded and adjusted directional estimates, not quoted asking rates or a survey. Confirm with brokers and operators before acting. Source data ages quickly.
TJ field notes
Coming soon: TJ's on-the-ground notes on this market. Expect what the queue really looks like, which sites can actually get power, and what the brokers aren't saying.
Slot reserved for TJ's detailed market report.