Berry Hill data center permit shows 3,000 MW, 7M gallons a day
A state and federal permit application for Stack Infrastructure's AI data center campus at the Berry Hill megasite lays out 21 buildings, up to 3,000 megawatts of power and up to 7 million gallons of water a day.
Stack Infrastructure's planned AI data center campus at the Berry Hill megasite in Pittsylvania County would include 21 data center buildings built in phases over 15 years, according to a joint permit application filed with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and reported by Cardinal News on Oct. 20. The Pulse tracks the project as Project Crossroads data center campus (Stack Infrastructure, Berry Hill).
At full buildout the campus would use up to 3,000 megawatts, mostly generated on site, with natural gas from existing transmission pipelines expected to supply a large share. Two on-site energy campuses would cover 205 acres. A 150-megawatt substation is expected to be running by 2028, and a March performance agreement sets a minimum load of 299 megawatts from Appalachian Power by the end of 2028. For comparison, the two reactors at North Anna produce about 1,890 megawatts combined.
Water use could reach 7 million gallons a day, roughly what the city of Danville uses, according to the filing. Up to 6 million gallons would come from Eden, N.C., which has spare capacity after a brewery closed in 2016, and up to 1 million gallons from Danville Utilities. The application says the campus would use no groundwater and calls the effect on water supply negligible.
Stack controls nearly 3,000 of the megasite's 3,528 acres; about 1,715 acres are developable and 1,733 acres would be disturbed during construction. The plan avoids 81% of 212 acres of wetlands and puts about 300 acres along the Dan River in a permanent conservation easement.
The Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority unanimously approved a performance agreement in May that raised the project to $100 billion in investment and 2,500 jobs paying at least $80,500, up from $73 billion and 2,050 jobs. The county expects up to $48 million a year in taxes at full buildout and offered no local cash incentives. The county rezoned the site for data centers and power generation in January; the project still needs its state and federal permits.
At up to 3,000 megawatts, this single campus would need more power than North Anna's two reactors produce, and it shows how Southside is becoming a new front for Virginia's data center buildout as Northern Virginia counties tighten rules.
What's next
- 2028 150-megawatt substation expected online; 299-megawatt minimum Appalachian Power load due by year-end
- 15 years Phased buildout of 21 buildings