QTS Richmond 3 · Sandston, VA

Last change recorded 2026-10-04 · Last checked 2026-10-04

Owner—

Users—

IT power, end of 2026144 MW

Planned end state240 MW

First power2026-02-13

Build-out complete2027-02-13 (est.)

Power pathGrid supply

Binding step Grid interconnection (from reporting)

First power vs announcedNo announced date on record

Full build-out vs announcedNo announced date on record

Utility / power partnersDominion Energy

Latest: Build-out complete (Epoch estimate) · Full build-out complete · 2027-02-13 (plan) · recorded 2026-10-04

Part of QTS's roughly 320-acre VAH campus in Henrico County. Dominion applied to the SCC for two 230 kV lines and an expansion of its White Oak substation to serve the site, which the SCC approved. Dominion has said new loads above 100 MW in Virginia face waits of up to seven years (August 2024), though projects already evaluated are not affected. · source ◐ secondary, confidence medium

Recorded readiness — 1 of 6 applicable milestones have a dated public record

○ Land○ Permits● Grid supply 2024-08· Generation○ Water○ Financing○ Construction

Gate to first power — target 2026-02-13 (estimate) · path: Grid supply · each step must finish its lead time before the target

1 of 1 required steps have a public date. Red = recorded date past the rule-based deadline · grey "no public date" = required step without a record · green = on record in time · context steps never colour.

	Step	Must finish by	Others did it	Known date	Status	Basis
	Grid supply agreed	2025-05-13 (9 mo before)	7 mo before (n=11)	2024-08-29	on record in time	Dominion warns of up to seven-year waits for new large loads · ◐
	Full build-out complete (context)	2027-02-13 (-12 mo before)	—	2027-02-13 plan	context	Build-out complete (Epoch estimate) · ◐

This site is energized; lights only show how its recorded steps compared with the lead times.

Lead-time assumptions

Site secured 15 months before first power — Land under control and campus announced. Rarely binding; shown for context.
Permits in hand 0 months before first power — Final air and siting permits. Operators often energize on standard or temporary authorisations and receive the major permit later; flagged only when the permit lands more than 6 months after first power or is missing for an on-site plant.
Grid supply agreed 9 months before first power — Interconnection or large-load agreement approved. Observed median 7 months before first power; the physical works (substation, lines) run in parallel with construction.
Substation and lines energized 2 months before first power — Utility delivery point live; final tests before the load is taken.
New generation online 1 months before first power — Utility plant or on-site plant generating; needed just before energization when the grid cannot carry the load alone.
Major equipment on site 6 months before first power — Turbines, transformers, switchgear delivered; installation and commissioning take the remaining months.
Construction started 24 months before first power — Groundbreaking of the building that gives first power. Observed 4-26 months for recent AI campuses; Meta's redesigned campuses took 35-58.
Building ready for IT 0 months before first power — First building ready for IT. 'Complete' or 'opened' is usually reported after first power; flagged only beyond 3 months.
Full build-out complete -12 months before first power — All announced buildings operational. Comes after first power by design; context only.
Water supply secured 12 months before first power — Water rights, municipal agreement or desalination contract in hand. Context only; one of the feasibility items.
Financing closed 12 months before first power — Project financing, anchor lease or committed capital announced. Context only; not applicable when the owner is a hyperscaler building on its balance sheet.

Dated steps (from the sources; later dates are plans)

2024-08-29 Grid supply agreedDominion warns of up to seven-year waits for new large loads · ◐

2026-02-13 First powerFirst power (Epoch) · ◐

2027-02-13 plan Full build-out completeBuild-out complete (Epoch estimate) · ◐

Build-out timeline (Epoch AI; dated status notes with IT power; rows after today are estimates)

2024-04-01—Land clearing begins.

2025-02-04—Building 1 shell is mostly complete, with some chillers installed on the roof. Building 2 shell is under construction.

2025-11-19—The substation is still under construction, based on a [Google Earth image](https://earth.google.com/web/@37.48033002,-77.25002949,65.53442036a,2152.9927926d,30.00094375y,-0.00000001h,0.59169466t,0r/data=CgwqBggBEgAYAUIC

2025-12-31—The substation looks complete, but we expect Building 1 still needs commissioning before it is fully operational.

2026-02-1348 MWBuilding 1 is operational, based on the substation being completed earlier and cars in the carpark. Building 2 and 3 are not operational, based on minor construction work at the perimeter and no cars in the carpark, but

2026-05-14144 MWBuilding 2 and 3 are operational, based on the previous entry.

2027-02-13 est.240 MWBuilding 4 and 5 are operational, based on Building 5 being roughly 1 year behind Building 1 in satellite imagery.

Recorded fact The site is energized.

Calculated requirement Energized; watch the build-out timeline for the next buildings.

Sources (Epoch AI selection): Richmond 3 factsheet · Environmental permit detailing power generation

Epoch AI, 'AI data centers', epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers (CC BY 4.0); coordinates from GeoNames cities500 (CC BY 4.0) and hand-entered places; overrides in tools/project_overrides.csv with their own sources. Campuses outside the Epoch dataset come from tools/campuses.csv (public reporting, source per row). Data retrieved 2026-10-05. Report a correction to contact@ailoadmap.com (campus id qts-richmond-3; include the row and a source link).