New data centers in NC could strain the power grid and your wallet

Our Take

WRAL's Liz McLaughlin lays out a story that's becoming a template: a rural town gets dangled a huge number — $6.4 billion in investment, 500 jobs, a tax windfall — and residents still say no. Tarboro's council rejected the deal because the math on water use, noise, and who actually eats the long-term costs never added up in the community's favor. That's not NIMBYism, that's due diligence, and more towns should be doing it before the ink dries, not after.

The bigger point buried in this local fight is the grid math. North Carolina, like plenty of states we track, is stacking up gigawatts of proposed data center load on a system that wasn't built for it, and somebody pays for the upgrades — either the hyperscaler in a special contract, or everybody else through rate hikes. When utilities won't say clearly who's picking up the tab, that's a red flag every ratepayer should ask about at the next public hearing.

Tarboro pushed back and won this round, but the same pitch is landing in dozens of other counties right now with less scrutiny. Check our facility map to see what's proposed or under construction near you, and use our take-action resources if your town is about to get the same offer Tarboro just turned down.