Inside GOP Senate hopeful’s financial ties to controversial data center boom
Michael Whatley, a U.S. Senate nominee in North Carolina, has significant energy investments tied to companies that support the state's data center industry, raising potential conflict of interest questions. His campaign advocates for local community control over data center projects and for data centers to fully fund their own energy infrastructure costs. The article also contrasts his views with his opponent, Roy Cooper, who supports local moratoriums and argues data centers should not burden residential ratepayers.
Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, and his family hold between $246,000 and $690,000 in energy investments with companies linked to the state's data center growth, according to his federal disclosure. These holdings raise questions about potential conflicts of interest given Whatley's support for data center expansion, an issue that has become prominent due to community zoning, energy use, and state growth concerns.
Whatley's investments are primarily in Duke Energy, Arista Networks, Dominion Energy, and GE Vernova. While companies like Duke and Vernova don't directly build data centers, they provide essential services or products, such as utility provision and gas turbines. Whatley's campaign spokesperson, DJ Griffin, stated that Whatley supports congressional stock trading restrictions and advocates for data centers to cover all their energy and grid upgrade costs without burdening residential ratepayers. He also emphasizes that North Carolina's communities should decide on local data center projects, not state or federal bureaucrats.
The article also highlights the stance of Whatley's Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper, who has taken a more critical view of data center expansion. Cooper's campaign argues that data centers are driving up utility bills and insists that local communities must have the final say on new projects, including the use of local moratoriums. Cooper's campaign also points out his support for restrictions on congressional stock trading, and contrasts his record of recruiting data centers with tax breaks during his governorship, though many tax incentives predated his term. Whatley and Cooper are set to face off in the general election on November 3.