Residents sharply divided over proposed Balaco data center and on‑site gas plant in Pittsylvania County

At the Feb. 18 Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors meeting, dozens of residents and local representatives testified for and against a proposed Balaco LLC data‑center campus and on‑site gas‑fired power facility that company materials describe as a multi‑phase project occupying roughly 747–750 acres and ultimately capable of producing very large amounts of electricity.

The proposals’ opponents said the project would strain local water supplies, harm river and wetland ecology and generate air and noise pollution. Supporters said the project would bring tax revenue, infrastructure and new municipal water service to parts of U.S. 29 corridor. The developer’s team told the board it had delayed its formal rezoning hearing to revise plans and provide more information to county staff and the public before the hearing is held March 18.

The debate centered on three sets of concerns: the project’s scale and energy output, which several speakers described in gigawatts; the project’s daily water demand, repeatedly cited as 2,000,000 gallons per day in public remarks; and environmental…