Amazon eyes Caroline, Spotsylvania for 11-building data center campus

Amazon is seeking federal and state permits to build an 11-building data center campus in Caroline and Spotsylvania counties.

The e-commerce giant’s Amazon Data Services subsidiary sent a joint permit application last week to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Amazon plans to build the campus directly southeast of the Interstate 95 and Mudd Tavern Road intersection in both counties within a 13-parcel area totaling approximately 1,143 acres.

The proposed Mattameade Data Center would include 11 two-story data center buildings, secure campus entrances and access roads, secondary entrances, and internal and external circulation roads for emergency vehicles.

In a letter attached to the application, Samantha Stratton — an environmental analyst with engineering and consulting firm Kimley-Horn, said the project allows for the development of a minimum of roughly 770 megawatts of data center capacity by 2027 “to meet the constantly growing demand and needs for computing and data storage infrastructure.”

She said the project’s need is supported by Amazon’s commitments to Virginia to invest $35 billion by 2040 to establish multiple data center campuses across the state.

Other features listed in the application include a parking lot and loading dock areas, a central administration building, sidewalks and pedestrian access ways, stormwater management facilities, three substation pads, electrical utility infrastructure and a water treatment plant. The project also calls for recreational facilities, including pickleball and basketball courts.

The Army Corps of Engineers says the decision on whether to issue a permit will consider factors such as conservation, economics, aesthetics, environmental concerns, wetlands, safety, welfare of people and energy needs. Amazon proposed purchasing 6.48 wetland credits and 2,346 stream credits to mitigate the project’s impact on wetlands.

People can submit comments on the project until March 15.

“We are constantly evaluating new locations based on customer demand,” said Simone Griffin, an Amazon Web Services spokesperson, in a statement. Amazon declined to provide further details about the project.

According to Datacenters.com, Amazon has 96 data centers in Virginia.