Goochland, Henrico residents pack meeting over potential Google data center

GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. — Hundreds of Goochland and Henrico County residents packed Goochland High School Tuesday evening as concerns grow over the possibility of additional hyperscale data center development near the Goochland-Henrico border.

The crowd filled the auditorium, with some attendees standing near the entrance as nearly 30 people took the podium during public comment.

“Put a stop to this immediately,” one speaker told county leaders. “The livelihood and safety of so many people are at stake.”

One project in particular drew attention Tuesday night.

Google is considering purchasing roughly 1,000 acres in West Creek Business Park, where the technology company could build a 1,200-megawatt data center campus.

Google is currently conducting due diligence on the property and has not committed to purchasing the land or submitted a site plan to Goochland County.

The proposed site is north of Patterson Avenue near Route 288 and sits within Goochland County’s recently approved Technology Overlay District.

That designation has become a major concern for some residents because data centers within the district can be developed by right, meaning an individual project would not have to go through a separate public hearing and approval process.

The potential Google campus is one of several large data center proposals to surface in eastern Goochland County.

A 900-megawatt data center proposed near Henrico County’s Tuckahoe area is already moving through Goochland’s public approval process. Three additional proposed developments totaling roughly 2,000 megawatts have also surfaced nearby, including the potential Google project.

Those additional sites fall within the Technology Overlay District.

Residents who spoke Tuesday raised concerns about transparency surrounding the projects, as well as their possible effects on the environment, public health and local infrastructure.

One speaker urged county leaders to require more information from developers before allowing projects to move forward, including a health impact assessment, environmental impact analysis, air quality analysis, decommissioning plan and monitoring plan.

Others said they worry residents could lose their opportunity to influence projects once developers move further into the planning process.

“We’re asking you to make sure progress doesn’t come at the expense of the people who call Goochland home,” another speaker said.

The debate is also drawing residents from neighboring Henrico County. Opponents of the proposed development say more than 28,000 Henrico residents and 10 schools are within 2.5 miles of the potential Google site.

Google’s interest in Goochland became public after the county announced the company was evaluating the West Creek property. According to the county, discussions surrounding the site date back to early 2024, when the Virginia Economic Development Partnership contacted Goochland about showing potential sites to a data center user.

A July 14 State Corporation Commission filing also referenced a potential 1,200-megawatt data center campus in eastern Goochland without identifying the company behind it. Google later confirmed its interest in the West Creek site.

For now, the project remains only a possibility. Google has not purchased the property or submitted plans to the county.

But residents who packed Tuesday’s meeting said they want answers about the potential impacts of large-scale data center development before projects are allowed to move forward.

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