Opinion: NC can protect ratepayers without driving away data centers
North Carolina seeks to attract data center investment while protecting ratepayers and communities through better statewide policies. Proposed legislation, Senate Bill 730, aims to ensure data centers bear their electricity costs, with debates on water use standards and local economic incentives. These discussions follow the withdrawal of a major data center project in Edgecombe County due to investor concerns about a less 'friendly' environment.
North Carolina is grappling with how to remain competitive for data center investment while safeguarding ratepayers and local communities, as detailed in an opinion piece by Colton Overcash. The article highlights that data centers bring significant capital investment and tax revenue but also pose challenges related to enormous electric infrastructure demands and local concerns.
The debate is underscored by two key events: the withdrawal of Energy Storage Solutions' proposed $19.2 billion data center project from Edgecombe County, with the company citing a desire for "friendlier communities," and the ongoing consideration of Senate Bill 730, the Ratepayer Protection Act. The House version of this bill proposes requiring long-term electric service contracts for data centers, including minimum billing requirements and financial protections against defaults, ensuring that customers causing major system costs bear them. Duke Energy is also pursuing similar large load tariffs.
However, Overcash argues that some provisions of Senate Bill 730 require reconsideration, such as the mandate for closed-loop water or liquid cooling statewide, and a blanket prohibition on local economic development incentives. He suggests that clearer water use standards, rather than prescribed technology, and allowing local governments to negotiate incentives with transparency and clawbacks would be more effective. The piece emphasizes the importance of transparent local approval processes, early engagement with communities, and predictable rules to mitigate political and financial risks, citing the Edgecombe County situation—where officials paused a land sale, residents raised concerns, and commissioners considered a moratorium—as an example of how risks can accumulate and deter investment.