Orange County Commissioners Pass 1-Year Moratorium on Constructing Large-Scale Data Centers

Orange County Commissioners have unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on the construction and expansion of large-scale data centers, including artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining facilities. The ordinance, passed at an April 21 meeting, prohibits the county from approving any new development proposals for such facilities. County Attorney John Roberts stated that the decision provides staff time to study the potential environmental and infrastructural impacts, such as water and energy consumption and noise pollution, before amending the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to establish specific regulations for data centers. Currently, Orange County has no large-scale data centers and lacks definitions for them in its UDO, which Roberts indicated makes it difficult for staff to process future applications. BOCC Chair Jean Hamilton emphasized that the board had heard enough about the negative effects of data centers, particularly their energy and water demands, which can be comparable to a medium-sized city and disproportionately affect low-income and communities of color through increased air and noise pollution. She noted the urgency given that data centers are a new type of land use not adequately addressed by existing county regulations. This action by Orange County follows Chatham County ’s similar 12-month moratorium on AI data centers and data mining facilities enacted in February. Emily Sutton, Haw Riverkeeper and Executive Director of the Haw River Assembly, highlighted the broader issue of lacking state-level "guardrails" in North Carolina, specifically the absence of water withdrawal permits. Sutton warned that without state regulations, data centers could draw vast amounts of water from crucial sources like Jordan Lake, the Haw, or the Cape Fear Rivers, impacting drinking water supplies for hundreds of thousands of people and potentially causing significant water quantity issues, as data centers are not required to report their water usage. She advocates for more counties to implement moratoriums to allow time for policy development.