Lower thirds:
00:02 Report by Mathis Richtmann
00:18 Roger Yackel, Resident
01:11 Roger Yackel, Resident
02:04 Peter Cary, Reporter, Fauquier Times
02:39 Joseph Majkut, Center for Strategic & International Studies

((00:01))
It’s the data center capital of the world.
With break-neck speed US tech companies are filling warehouses with servers to power the big data and AI revolution.
But some local residents aren’t happy with the fast pace of the developments…

((00:16))
+++ Roger Yackel, Resident +++
Yes, we're going up against Goliaths with Google and Microsoft and the others.
You can see it just goes on and on and on. And they're going to be four buildings in that space. It's insane.
+++

((00:31))
We’re in northern Virginia, right outside Washington, DC -- the US capital -- where the recent data center boom continues to take off.
Historically, the region has seen a strong data center presence because it is well connected to fibre optic cables that power the data connections for the intelligence agencies and the Pentagon.
((00:48))
Roger Yackel takes local officials and reporters on tours through the neighborhoods in Prince William County to show what data centers are doing to the area. He’s worried what their fast-paced developments will do to the livelihoods of his children and grandchildren.
The immense power consumption for the data infrastructure is part of that.

((01:08))
+++ Roger Yackel, Resident +++
We expect the power costs for what we use every month to go up 50%. So over what it is now, can I afford it? Yes. There are a lot of people, though, in Prince William County who can't afford that.
+++
((01:26))
Currently, residents in the area haven’t seen cost increases but projections by the local power company go even further than Yackel’s fears: Over the next ten years, prices could double for community members.
And that’s because grid operators need to massively expand power stations, sub stations, and lay miles and miles of new transmission lines.
And in the United States right now, those costs are shared across all users.
((01:54))
We’re meeting with local journalist Peter Cary, a reporter who’s been covering the region’s data center build-out for years.

((02:01))
+++ Peter Cary, Reporter, Fauquier Times +++
Last June, the region experienced a heat wave and the grid was that close. That close to not having enough power. And that was last year. And as I said, you know, new projections have come in for next year and for 2028, 2030, and they're like double what they were a year ago. So the grid, the grid operators, electrical grid operators are going to have a very hard time coping with all of this data center demand.
+++

((02:29))
To sustain the pace of the data center expansion, the US has to act fast to secure more power generation.
((02:36))
+++ Joseph Majkut, Center for Strategic & International Studies +++
We see […] incredible national interest in being able to deploy computation in the United States so we can both keep our firms at the front of the line in terms of advanced model capability, as well as see these technologies spread out into the economy, increase productivity, and raise living standards and incomes throughout the country.
((02:10))
For people in northern Virginia, it’s a David versus Goliath story. But one where both David and Goliath depend on the same power grid.