How we got here
Timeline
What has actually happened, with a source for every entry. Updated after each meeting that touches data centers.
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Virginia’s own watchdog warns about data center costs
JLARC — the General Assembly’s nonpartisan research arm — publishes its statewide data center study. It finds unconstrained growth could raise generation and transmission costs by as much as $18 billion by 2040, and that a typical Dominion residential customer could pay an estimated $14 to $37 more per month by 2040 in real dollars. Roughly 340 data center buildings already require about 5 gigawatts of capacity, and demand is expected to double within 15 years.
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Henry County starts drafting data center rules
The Board signals it will take up zoning ordinance amendments covering data centers and battery energy storage systems. Supervisors are explicit that they want rules on the books before anyone applies, rather than after.
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Supervisors say they still need more information
Ahead of the hearing, supervisors go on record with open questions. Vice-Chairman Travis Pruitt: “Right now, it’s important that we’re deciding whether to have rules, not whether to approve a project.” Supervisor Debra Buchanan: “We need more facts, we need more information, we need more knowledge about what data centers do.” Supervisor Pam Cobler: “I don’t feel like I have enough information yet. I am doing the research.” Water is identified as the county’s biggest concern, especially during drought.
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Residents pack the room — and the Board pulls the rules
More than 100 residents fill the Board of Supervisors meeting room for the public hearing. Speakers raise water consumption, noise, health effects, and wildlife habitat; several argue the draft requirements do not go far enough, and some call for an outright moratorium. One resident tells the Board: “We’re looking for strict codification.” The Board votes unanimously to remove data centers from the zoning amendments, and approves the rest. Chairman Jim Adams: “We’re going back to the drawing board after listening to everything tonight.”
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The Planning Commission is redrafting — with no deadline
The Planning Commission is developing a new set of data center regulations. No timeline has been announced, and no public deadline exists for comment. There is still no data center proposed in Henry County. This is the window in which the rules that will govern any future application are actually being written.
- Upcoming
Next regular Board of Supervisors meeting
The Board meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 3:00 PM at 3300 Kings Mountain Road, Martinsville. To be placed on the agenda, contact the County Administrator’s Office at (276) 634-4601 at least seven days before the meeting date.
The next entry on this page has not been written yet.
The Planning Commission is drafting replacement rules with no announced deadline. The next regular Board meeting is Tuesday, August 25, 2026, opening at 3:00 PM with public hearings heard at 6:00 PM — County Administration Building — Summerlin Meeting Room, 3300 Kings Mountain Road, Collinsville, VA. Meetings are open to the public.