As planes make their final approach to Washington DC’s Dulles Airport, just below lies Ashburn, a town otherwise known as Data Center Alley — where an estimated 70 percent of all global internet traffic at any moment finds its way.
Decades ago, the expanse of empty lots, forest and farmland in this corner of northern Virginia was slowly filled with suburban development.
Then came the advent of the internet and an influx of data center builders. They emerged with pledges of tax revenue and investment in return for building structures that, while not…
