# Hanover County, Virginia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Ashland Local rules on data centers are on the record in Hanover County. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Hanover County. Hanover County is home to Ashland. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “Rejection of Mountain Road Technology Park data center”. 3 projects are on the Delay Watchlist, including Mountain Road Technology Park (Tract) (900 MW). Construction employs 6,494, up 17.8% since 2019, and construction is 2.1 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. 1 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map 2.1× the U.S. share of jobs in construction 1,343 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas ## Cities and towns in Hanover County Hanover County is home to Ashland. Ashland7,982 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Hanover, Mechanicsville. 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 Hanover County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Virginia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 110,211 | 116,423 | ▲ 5.6% | 17th of 133 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 54,469 | 57,566 | ▲ 5.7% | 38th of 133 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $43,909 | $60,259 | ▲ 37.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 5,513 | 6,494 | ▲ 17.8% | 30th of 83 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,543 | 1,455 | ▼ 5.7% | — | | Data processing and hosting jobs (2019 → 2025) | 36 | 51 | ▲ 41.7% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.4% | 3.0% | ▲ 0.6pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 30 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Its power plants have 1,343 MW of capacity, 98% of it natural gas, the 8th largest fleet in Virginia. 30 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Employers here counted 57,566 jobs in 2025, up 5.7% from 2019. Unemployment was 3.0% in August 2026, against 2.4% in 2019. Virginia Electric & Power Co is the largest utility serving Hanover 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. Electrical contractors employ 1,455, down 5.7% since 2019 against up 33.4% statewide, at an average $78,689 a year. 116,423 people live here, up 5.6% since 2020. ## Who powers Hanover County ### Utilities with service territory in Hanover 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% | | Rappahannock Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 169,489 | 14.89¢ | 11% | 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 | 1,313 MW | 98% | | Solar | 30 MW | 2% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Doswell Energy Center | Doswell Ltd Partnership | Natural gas | 1,313 MW | 1991 | | Mechanicsville Solar | Mechanicsville Solar, LLC | Solar | 25 MW | 2020 | | VA - Ameresco - Mechanicsville | Peppertown Road Solar LLC | Solar | 5 MW | 2025 | ## The Hanover County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 57,566 | $60,259 | 1.00 | | Construction | 6,494 | $79,511 | 2.13 | | Electrical contractors | 1,455 | $78,689 | 3.50 | | Data processing and hosting | 51 | $56,460 | 0.29 | 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 Hanover County 1 data center in Hanover County is on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | Rejection of Mountain Road Technology Park data center | In force | 2026-05 | ### Delay Watchlist | Project | Status | Cause | MW | |---|---|---|---| | Mountain Road Technology Park (Tract) | cancelled | zoning denialcommunity opposition | 900 MW | | Hunting Hawk Technology Center | cancelled | zoning denialwatercommunity opposition | 900 MW | | Mountain Road Technology Park | cancelled | zoning denialwater disputecommunity opposition | — | ## Hanover County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Hanover County, Henrico 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Hanover County | 116,423 | ▲ 5.7% | 1,343 MW | — | 1 | 1 | | Caroline County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/caroline-county) | 34,413 | ▲ 18.7% | 892 MW | — | 2 | — | | Goochland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/goochland-county) | 29,187 | ▲ 7.7% | 5 MW | — | — | — | | Henrico County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/henrico-county) | 342,775 | ▲ 0.4% | 398 MW | 20 MW | 29 | — | | King William County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/king-william-county) | 19,617 | ▲ 6.8% | 131 MW | 75 MW | — | — | | Louisa County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/louisa-county) | 42,924 | ▲ 7.0% | 2,945 MW | 193 MW | 2 | — | | New Kent County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/new-kent-county) | 28,022 | ▲ 30.0% | 20 MW | 20 MW | — | — | | Spotsylvania County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/spotsylvania-county) | 155,388 | ▲ 5.7% | 500 MW | — | 3 | 1 | ## More of Virginia [All Virginia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia)[Henrico County342,775 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/henrico-county)[Spotsylvania County155,388 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/spotsylvania-county)[Louisa County42,924 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/louisa-county)[Caroline County34,413 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/caroline-county)[Goochland County29,187 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/goochland-county) ## Hanover County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Hanover County, Virginia? 2 utilities have service territory in Hanover County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Virginia Electric & Power Co, Rappahannock Electric Coop. The largest, Virginia Electric & Power Co, charged residential customers 14.09¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Hanover County? 3 operating plants with 1,343 MW of capacity. The largest is Doswell Energy Center (1,313 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Hanover County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Hanover County. ### Is Hanover County adding jobs? Employers counted 57,566 jobs in 2025 against 54,469 in 2019 (+5.7%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 5,513 to 6,494. ### Does Hanover County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Hanover County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/hanover-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/).