It has been suspected for some time now that a data center will be coming to the former Moss 3 site.
In 2024, the county applied for, and received, an Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant for the construction of a bridge on the property. A data center was mentioned in the application as a possible business.
Since that time, nothing official has been announced by county or data center officials. But late last week, a major data center developer updated its website, listing Russell County among its projects.
Oasis Digital Properties is a data center development company founded in 2024 by commercial real estate veterans Ross Litkenhous and Nick Over. The company develops data centers both inside and outside traditional technology hubs.
Under the title “Projects”, Oasis’s website states, “Learn more about the unique data center development opportunities Oasis is bringing to new and diverse markets.”
The first project listed is “Russell County IDA. 236-acre site adjacent to an AEP power plant with immediate power availability.”
Oasis provided a link to a PowerPoint presentation that is credited to the Russell County Virginia Industrial Development Authority.
The presentation shows a handful of photographs of the Moss 3 site. It boasts of Lake Bonaventure being a source of water. The presentation states the lake is 66 acres with over 500 million gallons of water capacity. It adds that a “pump station is already in place with a 12” supply line feeding the Industrial Complex.”
Lake Bonaventure, as well as other water supplies such as Kiser Well and the county’s public service authority, could produce “Daily capacity of approximately 500,000 gpd.”
The presentation shows two power resources. The first being the AEP Carbo Power Plant. According to the presentation, the power plant is:
Located 1.9 miles SW of the Industrial Complex
450 MW natural gas power plant
Currently serves the site with an existing 12kV line
Existing 138kV circuit is located 0.5 miles SE of the site
Plant can provide transmission level power, including large power users +50MW [verify intended symbol/meaning]
The second source of power is the Dominion Energy Virginia City Power Plant. Its assets are said to be:
Located 9 miles SW of the Industrial Complex
668 MW hybrid power plant
Interconnection located at the Carbo Power Plant
Plant can provide transmission level power, including large power users +50MW
The Russell County IDA, in the presentation, stated that total property investment to date is $7,525,500.
The presentation concluded with reasons why Russell County would make a great site for a data center. The reasons given were:
Adequate acreage for security and seclusion
Short timeline to access over 1 GW of power
Numerous water assets for equipment cooling
On site rail assets for importing building materials and equipment
Attractive tax rates for data center projects
Excellent local and state incentive programs
Oasis’s website boasts of benefits to data centers. “Data centers produce the highest positive net fiscal revenues of any real estate type in a given locality. Their demand for public services is minimal and tax revenue generation is extraordinarily high,” the website stated. “Data centers can transform neglected or underused sites into modern, attractive locations that drive interest and awareness for further local economic development.”
Oasis officials also state that unlike other investments, … “data centers do not lead to traffic congestion, do not impact the character of a community, and do not strain public resources such as emergency services and public schools.”
The website also states, “Oasis utilizes significant landscape buffers and setbacks to ensure its data centers operate in the background while generating significant, sustained, steady municipal revenue. This revenue can be leveraged to invest in further economic development growth, reduce the overall tax burden on the community, and fund public capital improvement projects.”
