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Leesburg resident warns data center growth strains power grid, cites proposed high‑voltage lines
Summary
At the July 17 Leesburg Planning Commission meeting, resident Olga Hanava used the petitioner section to warn that rapid data center growth in Loudoun County is putting pressure on the power grid and that proposed high‑voltage transmission lines could cut through neighborhoods and school properties.
Olga Hanava, a Leesburg resident, told the Leesburg Planning Commission on July 17 that rapid growth of data centers in Loudoun County is putting “a lot of pressure on our power grid” and raised concerns about proposed high‑voltage transmission lines cutting through neighborhoods and school properties.
The petitioner section of the meeting — opened by the commission for public comment on the agenda item listed as Leesburg Gateway, which the chair said already had its public hearing — is the portion of the meeting when members of the public may address the commission. Hanava identified her address as 18403 Rimrock Circle and said her remarks were her own and did not represent any organization.
“The fast growth of data centers in this area is putting a lot of pressure on our power grid,” Hanava said. She said Loudoun County has “approximately 200 data centers, with 100 more approved and in progress,” and that proposed Dominion high‑voltage lines “from Golden to Mars and Mars to Aspen Substation” were planned to cut through neighborhoods and school properties. Hanava told commissioners she opposed data‑center approvals because approving a data center, she said, also requires approving the infrastructure to support it: “you can't approve a data center without also approving the infrastructure to support it.”
No formal action on data centers or on transmission infrastructure was taken during the petitioner comment recorded in the transcript. Earlier in the meeting the commission took routine procedural actions: members voted to allow two commissioners, Brooks Spears and Jennifer Canton, to participate remotely and adopted the meeting agenda as submitted. The transcript does not record who made the motions or a roll‑call tally; both outcomes were indicated by voice vote.
The commission’s petitioner instructions announced a three‑minute time limit for individual speakers and a five‑minute limit for speakers representing a group. Hanava’s comments were given during that public comment period; the transcript does not show follow‑up questions from commissioners or further staff responses on the issues she raised.
The transcript excerpt does not specify whether the Leesburg Gateway agenda item is directly related to a proposed data center, nor does it identify the owners or applicants for any transmission‑line proposals Hanava mentioned. The commission did not record any formal referral, direction to staff, or vote on the infrastructure issues in the provided excerpt.
