Data Centers Caught In Power Play

Electricity Plan Confounds Firms

With five computer data centers in Northern Virginia, DuPont Fabros Technologies is a major local player in a growing industry responsible for safeguarding vast repositories of information stored online.

It also is a large user of electricity. In 2006, U.S. data centers nationwide consumed 61 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power about 5.8 million American households for a year, a recent Environmental Protection Agency report said.

So when Dominion Virginia Power of Richmond proposed running a new 500 kilovolt power line through a 65-mile stretch of rural Northern Virginia, how did DuPont Fabros respond?

"We're trying to remain silent," said Lammot J. du Pont, co-founder and executive chairman of the District company.

A new $243 million transmission line carrying additional power to the region could enhance its business, he said, but soaring towers and high-voltage lines could devalue its property.

"We're on both sides," du Pont said. "If we take one side versus the other, we're just hurting ourselves."

Electricity might be a vital commodity to technology firms, but many in Northern Virginia are ambivalent about a project that has pitted Dominion against environmentalists and community groups.

The Northern Virginia Technology Council, an association representing about 1,100 technology companies, decided not to endorse either side after hearing presentations from Dominion and the opposing Piedmont Environmental Council. The council is pushing the region to become a "green hub" through innovation, education and incentives for alternative energy use.

"We just really decided [the issue] was too multifaceted," council spokeswoman Michelle Snyder said.

Dominion is undeterred, saying it continues to meet with businesses, chambers of commerce and community groups to explain why the new power line is needed.

Since 1990, Northern Virginia's peak electricity demand has jumped about 76 percent, Dominion said. Expansion of Metrorail and Washington Dulles International Airport, increased development at Tyson's Corner and the growing high-tech economy will only gobble up more power. Twenty-five data centers are projected to come on line soon, and Dominion predicts an 8 percent increase by 2011, at which point rolling blackouts may be necessary during peak hours if more power isn't funneled into the region.

To help it make its case, Dominion provides financial support to the Coalition for Reliable Energy, a group founded in October by the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. The coalition lists 60 supporters, including a few technology firms.