Home/United States/Virginia/Mecklenburg County
Data centers in Mecklenburg County, Virginia: 2 projects mapped
Mecklenburg County is where Virginia's data center tax break began. A 2008 bill from Del. Tommy Wright drew Microsoft to this rural Southside county two years later; its Boydton campus, built for nearly $500 million, has been expanded repeatedly since. Microsoft has since built or proposed data centers across Boydton, South Hill, Chase City and Clarksville, on about 3,762 acres, though only two of those sites are on this record so far.
The tax break has paid off for county coffers. Data center revenue now covers about a quarter of the county budget and paid for a new high school. The county's proposed $230 million budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 would cut the real estate rate from 36 cents to 31 cents per $100 and cut the vehicle tax to its lowest since 1999. County Administrator Alex Gottschalk estimates data centers supply 35 to 40 percent of general fund revenue directly. "We picked vehicles because we want to allow everybody to accrue benefits from our prosperity and the data centers," he said.
Read more
The growth has environmental costs. At its Clarksville site, Microsoft self-reported four water violations between October 2023 and March 2024 after a subcontractor cleared land outside its permit, destroying 2.33 acres of forested wetland, and paid a $41,766.90 fine. Dominion Energy was building or had approved three new transmission lines across the county to serve the load as of 2024, with a fourth planned. At a Sierra Club forum in Chase City in September 2024, the group's Paige Wesselink said decisions had been made in "behind the door" conversations between Microsoft and supervisors.
In June 2026, Virginia's legislature and governor settled a budget standoff over data center tax breaks by agreeing to a new tax on data centers' energy use.
Data center projects on record in Mecklenburg County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Boydton1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft BoydtonBoydton | Microsoft | Not reported |
South Hill (Mecklenburg County)1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Hillcrest (Chesterfield)South Hill (Mecklenburg County)Exact site not confirmed | Microsoft | Approved | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.