Data Center Opponents Rally Outside Fayetteville City Hall
Protesters rallied in Fayetteville, North Carolina, demanding a state ban on data centers and the repeal of tax incentives, citing environmental and economic concerns. Cumberland County has enacted a six-month data center moratorium, while Fayetteville's City Council is considering its own and developing a related ordinance. The North Carolina General Assembly recently voted to repeal a sales tax exemption on electricity for data centers.
A rally held outside Fayetteville City Hall on Wednesday saw approximately 20 participants, including Fayetteville City Councilmember Shaun McMillan, advocate for a statewide ban on data centers in North Carolina. Organizers from groups such as the Party for Socialism and Liberation, ActionNC, and the Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, cited concerns about data centers straining water systems, driving up utility costs, and displacing human workers through automation and AI. They urged the N.C. General Assembly to repeal tax incentives for data centers, stop Duke Energy from raising electricity rates for the public to power these facilities, and halt new construction.
The demonstration is part of a broader movement across North Carolina, with similar events occurring in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Asheville, and local activists consistently demanding moratoriums. Cumberland County recently imposed a six-month moratorium on data center development outside city limits to allow time for a new regulatory ordinance. Fayetteville's City Council is also in the process of developing a data center ordinance and has postponed a decision on a city-wide moratorium until August, with some council members conducting research by visiting existing data centers.
In a significant legislative move, the state House and Senate voted this week to repeal a sales tax exemption data centers receive on electricity bills. If this provision, part of the state budget bill sent to the governor, becomes law, data centers would begin paying a 7% sales tax on power purchases, projected to generate $21.4 million this fiscal year. This action aligns with one of the demands from the activists, though a full statewide ban on data centers has not advanced in the legislature.