Data center profile · 22435 Glenn Drive, Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia

Vantage VA2 (Sterling, Virginia)

Vantage's Sterling, Virginia campus, marketed at 96 MW of IT capacity, in service on eight on-site gas turbines because Dominion cannot yet connect it.

Operating on on-site gas. The campus opened in early 2025 and its eight gas turbines have been the primary power source since Apr. 2024. No new phase is on record, and Vantage told residents in Aug. 2026 the turbines could be needed until about 2040.
96 MW
IT capacity Vantage markets for the campus
company marketing figure, three buildings, 800,000 sq ft
132 MW
permitted on-site gas turbine output
eight units at 16.5 MW each; the primary power source
~24 hours
diesel backup run on July 16 to 17, 2026
after a breaker failure took the turbines offline
~2040
how long Vantage says turbines may be needed
company statement at an Aug. 24, 2026 town hall (press)
OperatorVantage Data Centers (Vantage Data Centers VA2, LLC)
CustomerNot disclosed (Vantage leases wholesale capacity)
Planned IT capacity96 MW at full build-out (company IT figure)
First building in serviceIn service since Feb. 2025 (about 96 MW of IT capacity live)
Next stepNo date published
Power

Power and the grid

132 MW energized

On-site natural gas turbines (8 Solar SMT-130)Operating
132 MW
permitted 8 x 16.5 MW; operating since Apr. 1, 2024; behind the meter, primary power State agency · April 2024
Energized now
Other sources, size not disclosed
Backup generators (emergency use, not a power supply)

Getting on the grid

Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.

  1. Sept. 15, 2023
    State air permit for the turbine plant
    Virginia DEQ issues a minor new-source permit for eight turbines and the diesel fleet. see Permits
  2. April 1, 2024
    Turbines start normal operations
    Vantage began building the turbines on Nov. 3, 2023. State agency · April 2024
  3. April 27, 2026
    Vantage says it will leave the turbines
    Per DEQ, Vantage says it intends to shut the turbines and take grid power at the earliest opportunity. State agency · April 2026
  4. Aug. 24, 2026
    Queue position disclosed
Permits

Permits checklist

1 restricted · 3 granted

Approvals a campus like this normally needs (including an air permit for backup generators), and what we found.

Risks

What could slow it down

Money

Money on record

$17.5M
land purchase, recorded Oct. 27, 2021
Belfort Park LLC to Vantage Data Centers VA2 LLC (county deed records) County deed records · Oct. 2021
$28.5M
land purchase, recorded Oct. 28, 2021
FP Sterling Park Land LLC to Vantage Data Centers VA2 LLC (county deed records) County deed records · Oct. 2021
Land assembly

2 recorded land documents for the campus company in county records (Oct. 2021); 2 list a price. Parcel counts come from the deed; acreage is not recorded.

Timeline

What happened, and what is due

SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
  1. Oct. 27, 2021
    Site Vantage's VA2 entity records a $17.5M land deed from Belfort Park LLC County deed records · Oct. 2021
  2. Oct. 28, 2021
    Site A second deed, $28.5M from FP Sterling Park Land LLC, is recorded the next day County deed records · Oct. 2021
  3. March 21, 2023
    Permits Loudoun supervisors approve the rezoning and special exception News report · March 2023
  4. Sept. 15, 2023
    Permits Virginia DEQ issues the air permit for eight gas turbines and diesel generators State agency · Sept. 2023
  5. April 1, 2024
    Power The gas turbines start normal operations State agency · April 2024
  6. Feb. 2025
    Site The campus opens and residents begin reporting constant turbine noise News report · Feb. 2025
  7. April 27, 2026
    Legal DEQ concludes an advocacy group's health study overstates VA2's actual emissions State agency · April 2026
  8. July 16, 2026
    Power A breaker failure puts the campus on diesel backup for nearly 24 hours during a smoke alert News report · July 2026
  9. Aug. 24, 2026
    Site At a town hall Vantage says the turbines may be needed until about 2040 News report · Aug. 2026
Construction activity

Building activity by quarter

Since Feb. 2023: 22 FAA filings (Feb. 2023 to Oct. 2026): tallest crane 275 ft (Feb. 2024).

FAA filings
’23
’24
’25
’26
Dot size: records in the quarter, largest = 13. Two-digit years mark each first quarter.
The buildings

Specs

800,000 sq ft
three multistory buildings, as marketed by Vantage
Company · Oct. 2026
17 acres
site bought Oct. 2021 for $46M (county economic development documents)
News report · Oct. 2021
803,085 sq ft
maximum floor area allowed in the 2023 zoning approval
Local government · Feb. 2023
Other data centers within 40 km (253)
This campus (footprint)
26 ac
IAD101 Manassas Data Center
48 ac
LC Campus United States - Northern VA
46 ac
8190 Bethlehem Data Center
42 ac
Bethlehem Technology Park DC18 Data Ce
41 ac
IAD100 Manassas Data Center
41 ac
Who is involved

Owners, partners and builders

Owners and developers
  • Vantage Data Centers: owner and operator
Decision-makers
  • Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: 2023 zoning
  • Virginia DEQ: air permit and enforcement
  • Dominion Energy Virginia: interconnection queue
Still unknown

Open questions

Where this comes from

61 records from 16 documents

Drawn from state agency records, news reports, local government records, public and commercial datasets and company statements, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.

State agency 7News report 5Local government 2Dataset 1Company 1
Evidence

Every quote behind this page

Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.

Power (16)
  • A Piedmont Environmental Council commissioned report (Feb 27, 2026) modeled health damages from VA2 emissions; VA DEQ issued a formal Stationary Source Assessment on Apr 27, 2026 concluding the report overstates actual e
    “In using the maximum permitted emissions for the facility, it appears that the PEC report overstates the actual emissions from VA2.”
    State agency · April 2026 · grade A
  • Vantage has publicly represented that it intends to shut down the combustion turbines and connect to the grid for primary power at the earliest opportunity (per DEQ).
    “Vantage has publicly represented that they intend to shut down the facility's combustion turbines (CTs) and connect to the grid for primary power at the earliest opportunity.”
    State agency · April 2026 · grade A
  • Project status: operating
    “Vantage commenced construction of the combustion turbines (CTs) on November 3, 2023, and the CTs started normal operations on April 1, 2024.”
    State agency · April 2024 · grade A
  • Permitted on-site fleet (minor NSR permit issued Sep 15, 2023, registration 74242): 40 emergency diesel gensets plus 2 black-start units (Caterpillar 3516E, 2,750 ekW each) and 8 Solar SMT-130 natural gas turbines (16.5
    “The simple cycle combustion natural gas fired turbines currently serve as the primary power source for this facility.”
    State agency · Sept. 2023 · grade A
  • EIA registration status: Not listed in EIA-860M (Aug 2026) under any sheet; no EIA plant ID; not a CAMPD facility
    “Inventory of Operating Generators as of August 2026”
    State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • VA DEQ Stationary Source Assessment (Apr 27, 2026): the eight Solar SMT130 simple-cycle gas turbines (16.5 MWe each, 132 MW total) at Vantage VA2 started normal operations on April 1, 2024 and serve as the facility prima
    “the CTs started normal operations on April 1, 2024. The simple cycle combustion natural gas fired turbines currently serve as the primary power source”
    State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • CY2025 reported utilization per VA DEQ SSA: 47,131 hours of combined turbine (CT) normal operation plus 637 hours of combined CT uncontrolled operation across the 8 turbines (47,768 combined turbine-hours in calendar 202
    “the facility reports 47,131 hours of combined CT normal operation and 637 hours of combined CT uncontrolled operation”
    State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • IT capacity: 96 MW
    “three multistory facilities providing 800,000 square feet of space with multiple diverse power feeds, 480V end-to-end electrical distribution cooling, 96 MW of IT capacity and 300W/SF average densities”
    Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • On-site generation: 132 MW
    “The simple cycle combustion natural gas fired turbines currently serve as the primary power source for this facility”
    State agency · April 2026 · grade B
  • Metric: actual annual CT emissions, calendar 2025: PM2.5 38.4 tons/year; NOx 27.0 tons/year; SO2 13.2 tons/year; CO 13.3 tons/year; VOC 10.8 tons/year.
    “this reported utilization results in actual annual emissions as shown in Table 2”
    State agency · Dec. 2025 · grade B
  • Actual CY2025 facility-total emissions (SSA Table 3): CTs plus diesel emergency gensets - PM2.5 38.9 tons/year (69% of permitted 56.5); NOx 44.7 tons/year (47% of 95.0); SO2 13.3 tons/year (69% of 19.2); CO 20.3 tons/yea
    “When summed with the calendar 2025 annual emissions from VA2's traditional diesel-fired emergency generators, the facility's total annual emissions are significantly below the permitted”
    State agency · Dec. 2025 · grade B
  • Initial stack-test emission rates, Sep 17-27, 2024 (SSA Table 1), maximum hourly rate for any one CT: NOx 0.98 pounds/hour (3-hour average), 1.06 pounds/hour highest single hour, vs 1.41 lb/hr permit limit; CO 0.39 / 0.4
    “The emission testing event included measurement of the following pollutants: Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)”
    State agency · Sept. 2024 · grade B
  • Emergency diesel run, Jul 16-17, 2026: a critical power failure at the on-site plant disabled the gas turbines and dozens of diesel backup generators ran for nearly 24 hours (from about 8:15 p.m. Jul 16) under the permit
    “Vantage Data Centers' VA2 campus in Sterling, Virginia, ran on diesel backup generators for nearly 24 hours July 16-17, WUSA9 reported”
    News report · July 2026 · grade C
  • After VA2 opened in February 2025 residents reported constant turbine noise and organised against the campus; Vantage said the on-site power plant was built because grid connection was unavailable - the turbines were not
    “With eight natural gas-powered turbines running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the plant does more than generate electricity”
    News report · Feb. 2025 · grade C
  • In June 2023 Vantage submitted a site plan amendment adding the on-site gas turbine power plant; county did not classify gas turbines as a separate land use, so no Board of Supervisors approval was required and the item
    “In June of 2023, Vantage submitted a site plan amendment, adding an onsite power plant with gas turbines to the VA2 campus.”
    News report · June 2023 · grade C
  • Loudoun County Economic Development documents describe the VA2 site (22318/22435 Glenn Drive, Sterling; 17 acres bought October 2021 for $46M) as up to 96 MW of capacity across 800,000 sq ft, likely two buildings - the o
    “the site will have up to 96MW of capacity across 800,000 sq ft (74,325 sqm) of data center, likely split across two buildings”
    News report · Oct. 2021 · grade C
Money and contracts (2)
  • Land purchase (recorded deed): contract value 28500000 USD
    “Recorded: Oct. 28, 2021 · Price: $28,500,000 · Grantor: FP STERLING PARK LAND LLC · Grantee: VANTAGE DATA CENTERS VA2 LLC · Parcel number: 032-15-5119-000 · Address: 22435 GLENN DR · City: STERLING”
    County deed records · Oct. 2021 · grade B
  • Land purchase (recorded deed): contract value 17462767 USD
    “Recorded: Oct. 27, 2021 · Price: $17,462,767 · Grantor: BELFORT PARK LLC · Grantee: VANTAGE DATA CENTERS VA2 LLC · Address: 000 ADDRESS EXCEPTION · City: CITY EXCEPTION”
    County deed records · Oct. 2021 · grade B
Permits and government (31)
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Max Tip Height Confirmation”
    FAA · Aug. 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Mobile crane erecting steel for chiller platform on a data center”
    FAA · March 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Use a mobile hydro crane to erect a 6 story data center including a dunnage platform at the roof; Approved for 220' looking for increased operating height approval”
    FAA · March 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Crane to hoist roof units.”
    FAA · March 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Crane to hoist roof units.”
    FAA · March 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Crane to hoist roof units.”
    FAA · March 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA: Determined - No Hazard
    “Provide a crane to hoist mechanical equipment. Saturdays during normal working hours.”
    FAA · Jan. 2025 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-2225-OE: CM - VA22, Crane, 250 ft AGL, 578 ft AMSL, 38.99837778,-77.43096389, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-03-04”
    FAA · March 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1260-OE: Mobile Crane A-A, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 605 ft AMSL, 38.99786667,-77.43143611, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1261-OE: Mobile Crane A-B, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 603 ft AMSL, 38.997875,-77.43139444, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1262-OE: Mobile Crane A-C, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 603 ft AMSL, 38.99784444,-77.43138333, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1263-OE: Mobile Crane A-D, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 605 ft AMSL, 38.99783333,-77.431425, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1264-OE: Mobile Crane B-A, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 603 ft AMSL, 38.99866389,-77.43043056, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1265-OE: Mobile Crane B-B, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 603 ft AMSL, 38.99867222,-77.43039167, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1266-OE: Mobile Crane B-C, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 604 ft AMSL, 38.99864167,-77.43037778, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1267-OE: Mobile Crane B-D, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 604 ft AMSL, 38.99863333,-77.43041944, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1268-OE: Mobile Crane C-A, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 601 ft AMSL, 38.99820278,-77.42908889, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1269-OE: Mobile Crane C-B, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 601 ft AMSL, 38.99821389,-77.42904722, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1270-OE: Mobile Crane C-C, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 601 ft AMSL, 38.99818056,-77.42903611, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2024-AEA-1271-OE: Mobile Crane C-D, Mobile crane, 275 ft AGL, 601 ft AMSL, 38.99817222,-77.429075, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2024-02-05”
    FAA · Feb. 2024 · grade A
  • VA DEQ issued Vantage Data Centers VA2, LLC (22435 Glenn Drive, Sterling, Loudou: Minor NSR air permit issued (facility registration 74242): 8 Solar SMT 130 gas turbines + 42 diesel gensets
    “issued a minor new source review permit (NSR) for the facility on September 15, 2023. The facility registration number is 74242”
    State agency · Sept. 2023 · grade A
  • FAA OE/AAA archive case: Determined - No Hazard
    “ASN 2023-AEA-1430-OE: VA-21A PSE Crane, Mobile crane, 160 ft AGL, 488 ft AMSL, 38.99739444,-77.430625, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2023-02-01”
    FAA · Feb. 2023 · grade A
  • DEQ SSA: the 9/15/2023 permit requires emission testing of the CTs; the initial : Initial emission (stack) testing of the combustion turbines conducted
    “the initial emission testing for the CTs was conducted over a 10-day period; September 17, 2024 - September 27, 2024”
    State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • permit type=FAA obstruction evaluation (7460-1) (stated in detail per this folde: Studying
    “ASN 2026-AEA-12490-OE: CSC 45194 Vantage Data Plaza Sterling, Stationary/Fixed Crane, 250 ft AGL, 519 ft AMSL, 39.00138,-77.43826, Studying, submitted 2026-10-19”
    FAA · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • FAA OE/AAA records a 250-ft stationary crane filed as 'CSC 45194 Vantage Data Plaza Sterling' (ASN 2026-AEA-12490-OE, submitted Oct. 19, 2026) 0.80 km from the VA2 campus point - the first OE/AAA filing naming Vantage at th
    “ASN 2026-AEA-12490-OE: CSC 45194 Vantage Data Plaza Sterling, Stationary/Fixed Crane, 250 ft AGL, 519 ft AMSL, 39.00138,-77.43826, Studying, submitted 2026-10-19”
    FAA · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • Announced: Dec. 12, 2022
    “The Commission held a public hearing on December 12, 2022.”
    Local government · Dec. 2022 · grade B
  • Sterling residents have organized against VA2's continuous turbine noise and emissions; an Aug. 24, 2026 town hall ran over two hours with the county, DEQ and Vantage present, a Piedmont Environmental Council-commissione
    “many of those residents came to Park View High School looking for answers”
    News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
  • On the night of July 16, 2026 a failure of a critical 480V circuit breaker disab: Emergency diesel run July 16-17, 2026 (~24 hours): DEQ states it had no authority to stop it; post-incident review opened
    “Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said current regulations gave it no authority to stop the generators”
    News report · July 2026 · grade C
  • Jul 16, 2026: an electrical failure ran the diesel backup fleet for nearly 24 hours; residents reported noise and exhaust impacts. DEQ inspectors observed visible emissions from one generator that appeared to exceed perm
    “DEQ also responded after Vantage's diesel backup generators ran for more than 24 hours during a July incident. Inspectors observed visible emissions from one generator that appeared to exceed permitted levels.”
    News report · July 2026 · grade C
  • Loudoun County Board of Supervisors:
    “At its March 18, 2025, business meeting, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 to approve a Zoning Ordinance amendment making data centers a special exception use”
    News report · March 2025 · grade C
  • Loudoun County Board of Supervisors:
    “Still, the board voted to approve both the rezoning and the special exception requests.”
    News report · March 2023 · grade C
Site and other (1)
  • County code: 51107
    “Vantage Data Centers VA2, LLC (Vantage) owns a data center located at 22435 Glenn Drive, Sterling VA 20164 (Loudoun County).”
    State agency · April 2026 · grade A

Imagery and records: County deeds: ATTOM.