$60M data center expansion planned outside Charlotte, even as moratoriums mount
WhiteFiber announced a $60 million expansion to build two data centers with 60MW initial capacity in Yadkinville, North Carolina. This occurred as Yadkin County Commissioners enacted a two-year moratorium on data center zoning permits in unincorporated areas, driven by resident opposition over environmental concerns. However, WhiteFiber's project is unaffected due to existing industrial zoning within an incorporated municipality.
WhiteFiber, an AI infrastructure and data center operator, announced a $60 million purchase of two sites in Yadkinville, Yadkin County, North Carolina, from textile manufacturer Unifi. The company plans to build two data centers with an initial combined capacity of 60 megawatts, eventually scaling up to 200 megawatts, and expects them to be operational by next year. This expansion follows WhiteFiber's previous acquisition of another Unifi site in Madison, Rockingham County, where a $1 billion data center campus is under development.
Following WhiteFiber's announcement, Yadkin County Commissioners enacted a two-year moratorium on zoning permits for data centers in unincorporated parts of the county. This decision was influenced by 90 minutes of resident testimony expressing opposition due to environmental concerns, including farmland reduction, electricity, and water usage. Despite the county-wide moratorium, WhiteFiber's project in Yadkinville is unaffected as the sites are within an incorporated municipality and are already zoned for industrial use, eliminating the need for new zoning permission.
The article highlights a broader trend of data center moratoriums in the region, with Charlotte, Waxhaw, Alamance, Davie, Surry, Rowan County, and York County (SC) also implementing bans, and New York state enacting a statewide moratorium. However, like WhiteFiber's project, other data centers, such as Digital Realty's expansions in Charlotte, can proceed if they are in pre-zoned areas or if expansions were already underway. WhiteFiber, a subsidiary of New York-based Bit Digital, is focusing on retrofitting existing industrial sites for its data center developments.