Virginia Power Reliant

Virginia data centers are running out of power. Maryland farms lie in the way.

| Nathan Howard/Getty ImagesAn Amazon Web Services data center abuts a residential neighborhood in Stone Ridge, Virginia, July 2024.

By Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, Riley Robinson Staff photographer

Dwight Baugher’s sun-dappled orchard is an hour’s drive and a world away from the congestion of northern Virginia, where tar-ribboned exit ramps and windowless warehouses make up what is known as “Data Center Alley.”

There, in that concrete expanse, Data Center Alley houses what is casually referred to as “the cloud,” which isn’t a cloud at all, but regimented rows of interconnected computer servers, miles of fiber-optic cables, and a massive network of cooling pipes – the physical backbone of our digital lives.

At the farm, the focus is dirt. The Baughers make their living growing apples, blackberries, FINISH READING HERE

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