# Amherst County, Virginia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Amherst Amherst County is a generation frontier for Virginia. Amherst County is home to Amherst. 50 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Caden Energix Piney River LLC (solar). 5 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 12 MW of capacity, 60% of it hydro. Electrical contractors employ 85, at an average $53,215 a year. 50 MW of new generation planned here, solar leading 12 MW of operating power plants, mostly hydro -1.8% total jobs since 2019, now 7,835 ## Cities and towns in Amherst County Amherst County is home to Amherst. Amherst2,146 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Madison Heights. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Amherst County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Virginia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 31,312 | 31,962 | ▲ 2.1% | 57th of 133 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7,975 | 7,835 | ▼ 1.8% | 85th of 133 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,333 | $49,406 | ▲ 28.9% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.0% | 3.5% | ▲ 0.5pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 5 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 50 MW | 403% of today's fleet | 18th of 29 by size | Unemployment was 3.5% in August 2026, against 3.0% in 2019. Employers here counted 7,835 jobs in 2025, down 1.8% from 2019. Virginia Electric & Power Co is the largest utility serving Amherst County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.09¢/kWh in 2024, below the 14.39¢ median for Virginia utilities. 31,962 people live here, up 2.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Amherst County ### Utilities with service territory in Amherst County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Virginia Electric & Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 2,383,548 | 14.09¢ | 63% | | Appalachian Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 465,283 | 17.02¢ | 26% | | Central Virginia Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 34,893 | 16.14¢ | 16% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Hydro | 8 MW | 60% | | Solar | 5 MW | 40% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Cushaw | Cushaw Hydro LLC | Hydro | 8 MW | 1930 | | Amherst Solar Facility (VA) | Appalachian Power Co | Solar | 5 MW | 2023 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Caden Energix Piney River LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | 50 MW | Approvals pending | 2028 | Caden Energix Piney River LLC | ## The Amherst County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 7,835 | $49,406 | 1.00 | | Electrical contractors | 85 | $53,215 | 1.50 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Amherst County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Amherst County. Virginia has 13 local measures on record statewide. ## Amherst County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Amherst County, Campbell County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Amherst County | 31,962 | ▼ 1.8% | 12 MW | 50 MW | — | — | | Appomattox County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/appomattox-county) | 17,172 | ▲ 12.9% | 16 MW | — | 1 | — | | Bedford County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/bedford-county) | 83,059 | ▼ 0.3% | 22 MW | — | 3 | — | | Campbell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/campbell-county) | 55,629 | ▲ 7.2% | 179 MW | 120 MW | 2 | — | | Lynchburg (city)](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/lynchburg-city) | 81,347 | ▼ 9.0% | — | — | 1 | — | | Nelson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/nelson-county) | 14,920 | ▼ 1.1% | — | — | — | — | | Rockbridge County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/rockbridge-county) | 22,663 | ▼ 2.1% | 8 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Virginia [All Virginia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia)[Bedford County83,059 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/bedford-county)[Lynchburg (city)81,347 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/lynchburg-city)[Campbell County55,629 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/campbell-county)[Rockbridge County22,663 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/rockbridge-county)[Appomattox County17,172 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/appomattox-county) ## Amherst County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Amherst County, Virginia? 3 utilities have service territory in Amherst County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Virginia Electric & Power Co, Appalachian Power Co, Central Virginia Electric Coop. The largest, Virginia Electric & Power Co, charged residential customers 14.09¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Amherst County? 2 operating plants with 12 MW of capacity. The largest is Cushaw (8 MW, hydro). ### How much new power is planned in Amherst County? 50 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Caden Energix Piney River LLC. ### Are there data centers in Amherst County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Amherst County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Campbell County. ### Is Amherst County adding jobs? Employers counted 7,835 jobs in 2025 against 7,975 in 2019 (-1.8%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Amherst County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Amherst County. Virginia has 13 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/amherst-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).