Vance County residents against new data center development to express concerns Wednesday

Residents of Vance County, North Carolina, are preparing to express significant concerns regarding a newly approved data center development at a rural listening session hosted by Governor Josh Stein's office on Wednesday. The session, part of a statewide tour, will be held at Vance Granville Community College in Henderson, where citizens can share opinions on various topics, including the data center. Last week, Vance County leaders approved a rezoning request for a data center along U.S. 158 near Henderson without prior community input, a decision that has drawn considerable criticism from local residents. The developer, Natelli Investments, had previously sought approval for a project in Apex, North Carolina, but that city subsequently enacted a one-year moratorium on data center development. Environmental impacts are a major concern, with residents like business owner Hope Crabtree questioning the lack of proper studies on the data center's potential electricity demand and water usage, especially with persistent drought conditions across the state. Hyperscale data centers, necessary for supporting artificial intelligence, are noted for their high electricity consumption, rivaling entire cities, and significant water use for cooling, with much of the water lost through evaporation rather than returned to the ecosystem.