Data center firm EdgeCore is expanding in Virginia again with plans for a new campus in Culpeper County.

The company this week announced the purchase of 120 acres of land in the Culpeper Technology Zone (CTZ) in Culpeper.

EdgeCore aims to develop a 1.4 million square foot data center campus capable of initially supporting 216MW of critical IT load, with the potential to support up to 432MW.

Initial power delivery is expected in early 2028 through Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.

“The demand for land capable of accommodating 300MW+ data center campuses has skyrocketed in the wake of AI and cloud applications,” said Michael Shaw, VP of land acquisition, EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure.

“EdgeCore’s new campus is an excellent option for our hyperscale customers due to its proximity to Ashburn and the near-term availability of power.”

The site will use a close-looped air-cooled system, aiming for a water usage effectiveness (WUE) rating below 0.01 L/kWh.

“EdgeCore understands and supports the “community first” approach that has been established for the Culpeper Technology Zone,” said Bill Jabjiniak, SVP of national community engagement, EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure.

“We look forward to helping generate economic growth and jobs for Culpeper County, while remaining mindful of topics that are important to the community such as our minimal impact on local water supplies.”

Update: The Culpeper Star-Exponent reports Edgecore acquired Cielo's planned campus in Culpeper.

Cielo reportedly purchased the four Nalles Mill Road parcels in May 2023 for $18.75 million from two owners; the Fishbach family and Kenneth Dowder/Eastern View.

Cielo gained approval for a data center campus there last year.

Original story resumes:

Launched in 2018, EdgeCore was acquired by Partners Group in 2022 with plans to invest up to $1.2 billion to fund the acquisition and build-out of existing and future data center sites and has been on a rapid expansion spree.

Culpeper marks EdgeCore’s fifth market, following announcements for campuses in Ashburn, Silicon Valley, Phoenix, and Reno. The company has secured more than $2 billion in financing to fuel its build-out.

Traditionally not a large data center market, Culpeper County, located to the southwest of data center hotspot Loudoun County, has seen several proposals over the last 18 months.

Among those projects are a DataBank facility expected to comprise three two-story buildings spanning 1.4 million sq ft (130,065 sqm) and a nine-building campus from Peterson Companies. Culpeper County also approved four million sq ft (371,610 sqm) of rezoning requests around McDevitt Drive at the request of TPC Culpeper LC and TPC Freedom I LC in May 2023.

An Amazon data center is also under construction along Route 3 in Stevensburg, Culpeper County, having received approval in April 2022.