Chatham County faces lawsuit over data center moratorium

ECO TIP West LLC, a North Carolina land development company, has filed a lawsuit against Chatham County in Chatham County Superior Court. The company asserts that the county's recently adopted 12-month moratorium on data centers unlawfully blocks its long-planned 750-megawatt Triangle Innovation West project. ECO TIP West contends it had already secured vested rights for the project, located within the Moncure Megasite and zoned for heavy industrial use, through substantial investments exceeding $11 million and prior county approvals. The lawsuit claims that the moratorium, which also specifically targets cryptocurrency mining and was adopted following community opposition to AI data centers, was rushed, lacked required legal findings, and failed to consider alternatives, rendering it invalid. The company also argues its project should be exempt due to its pre-existing approvals, a request that county officials reportedly denied without detailed analysis, subsequently halting the processing of the company's site plan application. ECO TIP West, managed by Kirk Bradley, is seeking to invalidate the moratorium, affirm its vested rights and permit-choice protections, exempt the project, and be awarded damages for alleged due-process violations. The lawsuit utilizes an expedited judicial review process available under state law for land-use disputes causing immediate harm. County officials have yet to file a formal response in court. The legal dispute unfolds amid increasing demand for data centers to support artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency operations, and a rising trend in AI-related litigation, as noted by a report from litigation strategy firm DOAR.