July 2 (Reuters) – Blackstone’s QTS said on Thursday it had terminated its planned Digital Gateway data center project in Virginia and withdrawn the associated filings after years of planning and regulatory review.
The data center operator has faced years of local opposition and litigation over the project, despite it being approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.
Demand for AI and cloud computing has fueled a boom in data center construction across Virginia, home to the world’s largest concentration of such facilities.
However, the industry’s rapid expansion has drawn increasing scrutiny from local communities and policymakers over its impact on electricity demand, land and water use, and the environment.
QTS said Virginia remains a major part of its business, citing investments in Northern Virginia and the Richmond region, including $5 billion in Central Virginia.
The Digital Gateway project was expected to bring tens of billions of dollars in capital investment, generate substantial annual local tax revenue and create thousands of long-term jobs in Prince William County, according to the company.
(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)