North Carolina Tightens Data Center Rules

The story has sharpened from a broad dispute over data center controls into a more specific push to make large facilities pay their own power costs and fit tighter statewide rules. The current version also adds that several local moratoriums are still moving ahead, but some projects already in the pipeline may be exempt.

The story has shifted from a general state-level push to regulate data centers into a more concrete mix of local moratoriums and specific bill provisions. The new version adds clearer evidence that municipalities are already acting while lawmakers tighten rules on costs, cooling, incentives, and ownership.

• Charlotte approved a 150-day data center pause.
• Rowan County adopted a one-year data center moratorium.
• Senate Bill 730 would require long-term service contracts with ratepayer protections.
• The bill would prohibit local incentives for large data centers.
• The legislation would impose new restrictions on ownership and eminent-domain use.

The story has shifted from a general push for stronger data-center regulation to a more concrete policy package that now includes tax changes and clearer cost-shifting rules. North Carolina is not only restricting siting and cooling, but also actively changing how data-center electricity is taxed and who pays for grid expansion.

• Senate Bill 730 is now the main vehicle for the regulatory package.
• Developers may have to cover grid upgrades, transmission, and generation costs.
• North Carolina repealed the sales tax exemption on data center electricity.
• Local governments are using moratoriums and ordinance changes to pause approvals.
• The Data Center Coalition is now a named opponent.

The story has broadened from a specific legislative fight over Senate Bill 730 into a wider, more sustained North Carolina policy conflict over data center growth, with utilities, local governments, and community groups now more clearly centered. Duke Energy’s load-growth and generation-planning disputes have become a more prominent part of the narrative alongside local permitting and water concerns.

North Carolina is moving parallel state and local responses to rapid data center growth. State lawmakers advanced a bill that would tighten siting, water, noise, and cost-allocation rules for large data centers while also linking Duke Energy’s coal retirements to approval of new nuclear capacity. At the local level, multiple cities and counties have imposed moratoriums or new restrictions as residents and officials assess infrastructure limits and community impacts.