Digital Realty Funds New Charlotte Data Center Substation, Power Station by Airport
Digital Realty is moving forward with a massive data center expansion in Charlotte, North Carolina, near Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The project involves two 3-million-square-foot buildings and funding a new substation with Duke Energy, despite the city being under a 150-day moratorium on data center development and rezoning. Digital Realty is also expanding an existing facility uptown.
Digital Realty is proceeding with a significant data center expansion project in Charlotte, North Carolina, specifically near Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The development will feature two buildings totaling 3 million square feet on a 156-acre site, designed to support up to 400 megawatts of IT capacity.
To power this extensive facility, the Austin, Texas-based developer is financing a new 10-acre substation, which Duke Energy will own, construct, and operate. This substation, projected to cost around $53.5 million, will be located approximately four miles west of the airport and interconnect with Duke Energy's existing grid. Both Digital Realty and Duke Energy assure residents that the new infrastructure will not lead to changes in electricity costs or service.
This expansion comes as Charlotte is in the third month of a 150-day moratorium on data center development and rezoning. Despite this, Digital Realty is also advancing with another project in uptown Charlotte at its Trade Street location, involving the demolition of a historic building to erect a new four-story, 12-megawatt data center and mechanical yard. Duke Energy, which is expanding its data center service offerings, has signed energy agreements for about 1.5 gigawatts of new data center load since last fall, now providing a total of 4.5 gigawatts to various centers.