Raleigh, the largest city in North Carolina without a formal data center moratorium, could soon adopt a six-month moratorium on data center development.
On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council directed the city attorney to draft a moratorium, which the council will discuss and possibly vote on at the council's next meeting on Oct. 6.
Residents and community advocates urged city officials to impose a moratorium during public comments at the Raleigh City Council's Sept. 8 meeting. In August, a developer withdrew its annexation request to build a data center facility in Southeast Raleigh, near Jones Sausage and Rock Quarry roads.
Many cities and counties across North Carolina have adopted data center moratoriums over the last year as data center development becomes increasingly contentious across the country.
If Raleigh adopts the moratorium, most of Wake County will have paused data center development. The Cary Town Council unanimously approved an 18-month moratorium in late August on the acceptance, processing and approval of the development applications for data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and related data-process facilities.
"During the moratorium, staff will use the time to conduct a technical study, engage with the community, and develop an ordinance addressing data centers," Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said.
"Growth cannot come at the cost of our residents"
In late August, the Cary Town Council approved an 18-month moratorium on data center development.
The town of Cary's staff identified potential impacts from high electricity demand, cooling-related water use, noise from cooling equipment and backup generators, large building footprints, and changes to stormwater, groundwater, tree canopy and air quality.
Mayor Pro Tem Lori Bush, an at-large council member, was among the first council members to push for a moratorium, citing the rapid growth of AI and cloud-based computing and the resulting demand for data centers. Although Cary already has some smaller data center operations, Bush said she wanted the town to establish appropriate regulations before applications come forward.
Bush said water availability is one concern Cary should consider.
"Water is not something we have plentifully, and whenever there's a reduction in water, there's also a reduction in water quality, and that means it costs more money to clean the water so that it's fit to drink," Bush said.
Bush also raised concerns about the power demands of data centers and whether the existing grid and utility providers have enough capacity to support them.
"I felt like we need to look at not just water consumption, but what are the power requirements necessary for a data center, and does our grid and do our partners who provide power today have enough of that ready for this type of use? What are the requirements for potentially sustainable power?" Bush said.
Bush said the town of Cary wants to take a data-driven approach to evaluating the economic opportunities data centers could bring, as well as their potential environmental and personal impacts on residents.
Status of data center moratoriums in the Triangle
- Durham County: Its nine-month moratorium will last until May 2027, in alignment with the city of Durham.
- Orange County: County commissioners adopted a moratorium this past spring that will expire in April 2027.
- Chatham County: Leaders there approved a 12-month moratorium earlier this year that expires in Feb. 2027.
- Raleigh: The city is in the process of drafting a six-month moratorium that the City Council will vote on at its Oct. 6 meeting.
- Apex: The town council this year put in place a 12-month moratorium that expires in April 2027.
- Wendell: The town has a moratorium on data centers that expires at the end of December 2026.
- Cary: The town council passed an 18-month moratorium in late August and plan to make a decision regarding an ordinance by February 2028.
- Johnston, Person and Franklin counties: These counties do not have a data center moratorium in place.
- Harnett County: Harnett approved a one-year moratorium in May 2026.
- Sanford and Lee County: Sanford and Lee County does not have a data center moratorium in effect, noting in a public notice that a moratorium would create a "legal quagmire." Local officials instead updated its rules regarding potential data center development proposals.
Councilwoman Sarika Bansal, who represents District D, said the moratorium will give Cary time to understand how data center development could affect residents, infrastructure and local resources before deciding how to move forward.
"Growth cannot come at the cost of our residents. Taking the time to develop a strategic approach that will benefit our residents is a carefully thought-out process," Bansal said. "We will prioritize our residents' safety and the protection of their resources. That is our priority. Any decision we make, based on the facts presented, will be in the best interest of our community."
Weinbrecht pointed to practices he observed during a recent visit to a Meta data center in Ireland that Cary could consider.
During the visit, Weinbrecht said he learned that new data centers in Ireland must provide their own power, while Meta's facility uses the national grid and offsets its annual electricity use through off-site clean-energy contracts. The facility also uses berms to reduce noise, recycles water through its internal systems and diverts about 92% of its waste from landfills.
Representatives from Meta told the Cary delegation the company would not seek to locate a facility in a community where it was not wanted.
"I believe these are the types of guidelines and commitments we should be considering when evaluating data centers: responsible energy use, clean energy investment, water conservation, noise mitigation, waste reduction, meaningful community investment, local jobs, and, most importantly, listening to the community," Weinbrecht said.
Over the next 18 months, Cary staff will examine how other North Carolina communities regulate data centers and work with the town's water utility and outside electricity, fiber and infrastructure providers to assess the capacity and constraints associated with large facilities.
The town also plans to seek input from residents, businesses, developers and communities on data center construction and potential standards.
Regional coordination is expected to include Wake County, Central Pines Regional Council, Duke Energy Progress, Apex Electric Utilities and neighboring jurisdictions.
Cary's current schedule calls for technical studies, community engagement and regional coordination from fall 2026 through spring 2027, followed by draft ordinance review in summer 2027. A public hearing is anticipated in October 2027, with Planning and Zoning Board consideration in December and a Town Council decision in February 2028.
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