As a hobby, reenactment of the Civil War enjoys a robust following, with dozens of Civil War battles reenacted annually. A particularly iconic location is the Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia, where a hardy group in vintage uniforms immerses themselves in the First Battle of Bull Run—a surprise victory in 1861 for the Confederate army, shattering any hopes for a brief war.

Some 160 years later, a fresh battle is now being waged around Manassas. Instead of cannons and mini-balls, the weapons are pixels and lawsuits. And while no deaths are expected, the stakes are large and passions run high on both sides.

The fierce conflict involves plans to build a massive data center—one of the planet’s biggest—in a plot of Manassas land that, opponents say, is uncomfortably close to where the Civil War armies once exchanged battle cries. A precious national landmark is being encroached upon.

Before AI, hulking data centers tended to perform their ceaseless data processing in distant locations, “somewhere else”—out of sight, out of mind. But as AI requires exponentially more infrastructure to support all those zillions of queries, tech companies are planning dozens of new data centers—in locations that make neighbors very unhappy. As reported on Techstrong.it, Meta alone plans to build new data centers worth tens of billions of dollars.

Nowhere is this data center build-out more aggressive than in Virginia, the one-time primary Civil War location that is now a preeminent location for data facilities. Hosting some 580 data centers—with more than 300 within 20 to 40 miles of Washington, DC—it has earned the nickname Data Center Alley.

At the center of the controversy is Prince William Digital Gateway’s plans to construct a massive data facility in Manassas where battle charges took place during the Battle of Bull Run. In response, the American Battlefield Trust and a group of residents is fighting back. They are suing to block construction of the facility, the plans for which appear to squeeze the huge facility in between a state forest and land owned by the American Battlefield Trust. The new facility is scheduled to comprise 23 million square feet.

The Virginia State Legislature issued a report noting both the positives and negatives. By its count, the state’s data center sector adds 74,000 jobs, $5.5 billion in labor income, and $9.1 billion in GDP to Virginia annually. However, power generation to supply data center growth appears questionable. The state’s energy demand was flat from 2006 to 2020, the report states. But now demand for power in Virginia is forecast to double within the next 10 years, “with the data center industry being the main driver.” Even with new solar facilities, wind generation, and natural gas plants, “the number of projects needed would be very difficult to achieve.”

Furthermore, electricity prices will need to rise for consumers. QTS Data Centers, one of the companies contracted to build the center, has announced that it will foot the bill for building out the grid to offset any boost to household electric bills. Opponents claim that’s not realistic.

The lawsuit awaits resolution, as a judge in late June denied a request to dismiss the case.

Meanwhile, this new battle in Virginia reflects the future of disputes about data center construction across the country, and likely the world. AI demands more data centers—many more—but communities fear the environmental degradation of these energy-consuming facilities. Like the original Civil War, expect a long series of protracted battles over this thorny issue.