Gigawatt Ledger · one-page briefing
Campus profile Blocked or in litigation
Prince William Digital Gateway
QTS / Compass Datacenters · Gainesville, Virginia
The resource footprint
Modelled averageIn one day, this campus would consume about
25.850-metre swimming pools
Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.
The actual estimate17,060,020 US gallons consumed
Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.
If announced plans are fully built · Not operating yet · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.
Comparison sizes & sources
One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.
One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.
One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.
Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.
Water: see the numbers and sources
This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.
- Pressure on local water
- Medium-High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
- Where the water comes from
- Municipal potable supply
- Cooling
- Closed-loop liquid (as proffered)
- Basis
- Modelled from cooling design — WUE 0.37 L/kWh
Air: see the numbers and sources
The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.
- Health range
- $44.5–129 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
- Statistical deaths
- 10.7 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
- Equals
- 1,379,700 cars of NOx
- Where it burns
- PJM Dominion — Virginia
- Generation mix
- Gas 55 · Nuclear 30 · Coal 4 · Solar 5
- Diesel backup
- Project is contested / blocked. Diesel inventory not modelled.
- CO₂e
- 3,863 kt/yr — climate, not air quality
The project, approvals and community concerns
- Who asked for it
- Undisclosed hyperscale tenants; land assembled by a coalition of ~40 property owners who lobbied for the rezoning
- Who approved it
- Prince William County Board of Supervisors rezoned 2,100 acres in a 13-hour December 2023 session; litigation over the vote continues
- What it serves
- Speculative hyperscale build — tenants not disclosed
- IT capacity
- 0 MW current capacity / 1,600 MW full-build scenario
Twenty-three million square feet approved along the edge of Manassas National Battlefield Park. The National Parks Conservation Association and residents sued over the rezoning process; the site is the sharpest test yet of whether local land-use law can absorb gigawatt-scale demand.
Keep this guide handy
38.8300°, -77.5500°
Quote or share these estimates
Gigawatt Ledger (2026). Prince William Digital Gateway: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/pwdg/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.
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Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.