Residents in Vance County on Wednesday will have a chance to share their concerns about a new data center planned for the area at a rural listening session hosted by Gov. Josh Stein's office.
Vance County is one stop in the governor's statewide tour giving rural communities a chance to ask questions and share opinions about a variety of topics, which may include the planned data center, drought conditions and teacher pay, among other issues.
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A roundtable discussion at 3 p.m. on Wednesday will be followed by a public open session at 3:45 p.m. at the civic center at Vance Granville Community College, located at 200 Community College Road in Henderson. Staff from the governor's office will be in attendance.
County-by-County: Where do our local communities stand on data centers?
Residents are expected to share their opposition to a planned development along U.S. 158 near Henderson. Last week, without community input, Vance County leaders approved a rezoning request for a new data center, drawing a lot of criticism from residents.
Data centers, which are warehouses containing thousands of servers, have been a hot topic of conversation for months across the Triangle as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent.
Natelli Investments, the developer that submitted the rezoning request in Vance County, previously submitted a proposal in Apex. However, Apex issued a moratorium, placing a one-year pause on data center development.
Hyperscale data centers are massive facilities that companies use to hold IT software. WRAL climate change reporter Liz McLaughlin reports the servers generate heat that must be cooled and can consume electricity at a rate that can rival entire cities.
How much water do data centers use in North Carolina?
Industry estimates show a single large data center can use up to a billion gallons of water a year, or as much as 2.7 million gallons a day during peak summer heat. That's similar to the daily use of some entire towns and enough water to fill hundreds of swimming pools.
Much of that water is used for cooling, and unlike most municipal systems, a portion is lost through evaporation rather than returned to the river basin.
With a drought persisting across much of the state, data center water usage is attracting more attention.
How much energy do data centers use?
A single hyperscale data center can draw hundreds of megawatts of electricity and use enormous volumes of water during peak summer heat. A 300-megawatt data center can use as much electricity as roughly 200,000 North Carolina homes running nonstop, based on U.S. Energy Information Administration household consumption data.
Business owners speak out
Business owners like Hope Crabtree told WRAL News she believes government leaders need more time to research and decide whether data centers are right for the area.
"There hasn’t been proper studies done for us to be able to see what it is, what’s the power draw going to be," Crabtree said. "What’s the energy output, and what’s the water consumption?
People who support data centers say they are a way to generate more money into the local economy.
A list of upcoming listening sessions from the governor's office can be found here.
