# Buchanan County, Virginia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Big Rock and Breaks No data center or power plant project is on record in Buchanan County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Construction employs 107, down 69.2% since 2019. Buchanan County is home to Grundy. Next door, Pike County, Kentucky, has 2 data centers. Unemployment was 7.0% in August 2026, against 5.5% in 2019. Employers here counted 5,696 jobs in 2025, down 11.7% from 2019. -11.7% total jobs since 2019, now 5,696 88 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas 14.09¢ per kWh for Virginia Electric & Power Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Buchanan County Buchanan County is home to Grundy. Grundy815 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Big Rock, Breaks, Vansant. 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 Buchanan County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Virginia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 20,247 | 18,492 | ▼ 8.7% | 84th of 133 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 6,451 | 5,696 | ▼ 11.7% | 129th of 133 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $50,193 | $62,841 | ▲ 25.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 347 | 107 | ▼ 69.2% | 83rd of 83 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.5% | 7.0% | ▲ 1.5pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Its power plants have 88 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas. 18,492 people live here, down 8.7% since 2020. Virginia Electric & Power Co is the largest utility serving Buchanan County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.09¢/kWh in 2024, below the 14.39¢ median for Virginia utilities. ## Who powers Buchanan County ### Utilities with service territory in Buchanan 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% | 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 | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 88 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Buchanan Generation LLC | Buchanan Generation, LLC | Natural gas | 88 MW | 2002 | ## The Buchanan County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 5,696 | $62,841 | 1.00 | | Construction | 107 | $61,108 | 0.35 | 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 Buchanan County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Buchanan County. Virginia has 13 local measures on record statewide. ## Buchanan County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Buchanan County, Pike 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Buchanan County | 18,492 | ▼ 11.7% | 88 MW | — | — | — | | Dickenson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/dickenson-county) | 13,236 | ▼ 2.4% | — | — | — | — | | McDowell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/mcdowell-county) WV | 16,878 | ▼ 12.3% | — | — | — | — | | Mingo County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/mingo-county) WV | 21,455 | ▼ 12.4% | — | — | — | — | | Pike County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/pike-county) KY | 54,721 | ▼ 2.5% | — | — | 2 | — | | Russell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/russell-county) | 25,332 | ▼ 9.0% | 475 MW | — | — | — | | Tazewell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/tazewell-county) | 38,635 | ▼ 7.4% | — | 13 MW | — | — | ## More of Virginia [All Virginia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia)[Tazewell County38,635 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/tazewell-county)[Russell County25,332 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/russell-county)[Dickenson County13,236 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/dickenson-county) ## Buchanan County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Buchanan County, Virginia? 2 utilities have service territory in Buchanan County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Virginia Electric & Power Co, Appalachian Power Co. The largest, Virginia Electric & Power Co, charged residential customers 14.09¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Buchanan County? 1 operating plant with 88 MW of capacity. The largest is Buchanan Generation LLC (88 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Buchanan County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Buchanan County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Pike County. ### Is Buchanan County adding jobs? Employers counted 5,696 jobs in 2025 against 6,451 in 2019 (-11.7%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 347 to 107. ### Does Buchanan County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Buchanan County. Virginia has 13 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/buchanan-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/).