Dark smoke rose over a Virginia data center as a heat wave pushed the power grid to the limit.0

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• July 11, 2026

Ashburn, Virginia, is in the heart of America’s “data center alley.” Over the Fourth of July weekend, diesel generators at a Digital Realty data center turned on as temperatures rose. Dark smoke hung over ACC9, one of dozens of data centers clustered in Ashburn and nearby cities, according to July 3 video and photos seen