Chemours targets data centers as North Carolina officials debate future facilities
Chemours is developing a new PFAS-based refrigerant, Opteon, for data center cooling, raising environmental concerns among advocacy groups. Simultaneously, officials in southeastern North Carolina are debating the future of data centers, with some localities already enacting moratoriums and New Hanover County considering one due to impacts on electricity, water, and land use.
Chemours, a company known for PFAS contamination in southeastern North Carolina, is venturing into the data center industry with a new PFAS-based refrigerant called Opteon. This chemical is designed to enhance cooling efficiency for data center servers, particularly for AI applications, by reducing energy and water consumption.
Environmental advocates, including Drew Ball from the Natural Resources Defense Council, express concern, citing the historical pollution from Chemours' Fayetteville Works plant and the potential hazards of releasing short-chain PFAS during manufacturing and disposal of Opteon. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing Opteon 2P50, which is not yet commercially available in the U.S.
Amidst these developments, local officials in southeastern North Carolina are actively debating data center development. While there are currently no data centers in the region, New Hanover County Commissioner LeAnn Pierce is advocating for a moratorium on data centers, citing significant draws on electricity, water, and land. She has requested the topic be added to the county commissioners' agenda for discussion on September 21.
Boiling Spring Lakes and Whiteville have already approved 12-month data center moratoriums, while officials in Leland, Shallotte, and Southport have also discussed the issue. Chemours declined an on-camera interview but stated in a release that Opteon supports their focus on higher-value applications like data center infrastructure.