Land and data-center sites, North Carolina
Research

Where North Carolina has paused data centers

County and town actions on data centers: moratoriums adopted, ordinances passed, votes pending, and proposals rejected. Every row links to the meeting record or local report.

Last updated 2026.09.2949 rowsDownload the data (CSV)

What the data shows

Local pauses on data centers spread quickly across North Carolina from late 2025 into 2026, mostly as twelve-month moratoriums while boards write zoning standards for the use. Some counties rejected a pause and some adopted an ordinance instead. A bill in the General Assembly proposed a two-year permit moratorium for the whole state and stalled in committee.

How to use it

Developers can see which jurisdictions have an active pause and which have written standards a project can meet. Reporters and planners can see the pattern by date. Landowners can see whether their county has acted.

How this dataset was built

Rows come from county and town meeting records, agendas, adopted ordinances, and local news reports of the votes. A row enters only when a public page confirms the action and the date. Moratoriums that cover only crypto mining are excluded. Actions we could not confirm on a live page are left out until we can.

Questions

Which North Carolina counties have a data center moratorium?

The table lists every county and town action we could confirm, with the date and the vote. Most adopted pauses run twelve months and expire on the anniversary of the vote unless extended.

Does a moratorium stop every data center?

No. A moratorium pauses new applications for the period the board sets. Projects already approved usually continue, and courts have exempted individual projects from a later pause.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes. The dataset is licensed CC BY 4.0. Cite FOUND and link to this page.

The data

JurisdictionCountyDateStatusWhat happenedSources
RaleighWake2026-09proposedRaleigh drafted a six-month data center moratorium in September 2026 with a council vote scheduled for October 6, 2026.[9][24]
Nash CountyNash2026-09adoptedNash County commissioners adopted on September 9, 2026 a moratorium on data centers and crypto mining in unincorporated areas until June 30, 2027.[47]
StatesvilleIredell2026-09adoptedStatesville City Council unanimously adopted a 180-day data center moratorium effective September 14, 2026; previously approved projects are not affected.[14][15]
Guilford CountyGuilford2026-09debatedGuilford County commissioners voted September 17, 2026 to hold an October 15 hearing on a moratorium of up to 180 days.[38]
Columbus CountyColumbus2026-09debatedColumbus County scheduled an October 5, 2026 hearing on a 90- to 120-day data center moratorium.[37]
SouthportBrunswick2026-09adoptedSouthport's Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a 15-month data center moratorium on September 10, 2026.[35]
Yadkin CountyYadkin2026-08adoptedYadkin County commissioners voted 5-0 for a two-year data center moratorium in unincorporated areas in August 2026.[45][46]
CaryWake2026-08adoptedCary approved an 18-month data center moratorium on August 27, 2026.[9][25]
WaxhawUnion2026-08adoptedWaxhaw's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a 12-month moratorium on data centers and crypto mining on August 11, 2026.[21]
Randolph CountyRandolph2026-08adoptedRandolph County commissioners amended the county data center ordinance to require closed-loop cooling and noise studies.[17]
FarmvillePitt2026-08adoptedFarmville commissioners unanimously adopted a 12-month data center moratorium in August 2026.[54]
GreensboroGuilford2026-08adoptedGreensboro City Council approved on August 18, 2026 a 180-day moratorium on data centers with power demand above 10 MW.[16][17][18]
Edgecombe CountyEdgecombe2026-08adoptedEdgecombe County approved a two-year data center moratorium on August 3, 2026, after adding data centers to its ordinance in November 2025.[9][27]
Durham CountyDurham2026-08adoptedDurham County commissioners voted 4-1 for a nine-month moratorium (to May 2027) on large data centers over 100,000 sq ft or using diesel backup or non-closed-loop cooling.[22][9]
FayettevilleCumberland2026-08debatedFayetteville City Council held an August 10, 2026 hearing on a data center moratorium without consensus and scheduled a special meeting for October 2026.[9][29]
WhitevilleColumbus2026-08adoptedWhiteville City Council approved a 12-month moratorium on data centers and crypto mining from August 25, 2026 to August 25, 2027.[36]
Alamance CountyAlamance2026-08adoptedAlamance County commissioners voted 5-0 on August 17, 2026 for a 12-month moratorium on new data centers in unincorporated areas.[19][20]
Surry CountySurry2026-07adoptedSurry County enacted a 60-day moratorium in June 2026 and a two-year data center moratorium in July 2026.[42][43]
Mount AirySurry2026-07adoptedMount Airy approved a 60-day moratorium on new data center projects on July 16, 2026.[39]
Stokes CountyStokes2026-07rejectedStokes County commissioners rejected a six-month data center moratorium in July 2026 after the planning board backed it.[40][41]
FranklinMacon2026-07adoptedFranklin Town Council unanimously approved a 12-month data center moratorium in July 2026.[51][52]
Davie CountyDavie2026-07adoptedDavie County commissioners unanimously approved a one-year data center moratorium in July 2026.[44]
Davidson CountyDavidson2026-07debatedDavidson County commissioners directed staff in July 2026 to draft a six-month data center moratorium, with a hearing set for August 24, 2026.[39]
Holly SpringsWake2026-06adoptedHolly Springs Town Council approved a moratorium of up to 12 months on data centers, data processing, and crypto mining in town limits and ETJ.[26]
HillsboroughOrange2026-06adoptedHillsborough adopted a 60-day data center moratorium and extended it to one year after a June 22, 2026 hearing.[49][50]
CharlotteMecklenburg2026-06adoptedCharlotte City Council unanimously approved a 150-day citywide data center moratorium on June 8, 2026, running through November 5, 2026.[23]
Cumberland CountyCumberland2026-06adoptedCumberland County adopted a six-month data center moratorium on June 15, 2026, expiring December 2026.[9]
AshevilleBuncombe2026-06adoptedAsheville City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data center development on June 23, 2026.[30][31]
Boiling Spring LakesBrunswick2026-06adoptedBoiling Spring Lakes imposed a moratorium on data centers, data processing, and crypto mining from June 2, 2026 to no later than June 2, 2027.[33][34]
Northampton CountyNorthampton2026-05adoptedNorthampton County commissioners approved a 32-month data center moratorium on May 4, 2026.[48]
Harnett CountyHarnett2026-05adoptedHarnett County commissioners unanimously adopted a one-year data center moratorium on May 4, 2026, expiring May 3, 2027.[28][9]
DurhamDurham2026-05adoptedThe City of Durham adopted a 60-day data center moratorium on May 4, 2026 and extended it 10 months on June 15, 2026.[9]
WoodfinBuncombe2026-05adoptedWoodfin Town Council unanimously adopted a 12-month data center moratorium on May 19, 2026.[32][30]
Statewidestatewide2026-04not enactedHouse Bill 1189 (Datacenter Transparency Act) proposed a two-year statewide moratorium on data center siting permits from August 2026 but stalled in House Rules.[56][57]
Watauga CountyWatauga2026-04adoptedWatauga County commissioners unanimously passed a one-year data center moratorium on April 21, 2026.[5]
ApexWake2026-04adoptedApex approved a 12-month moratorium on data centers and crypto mining effective April 28, 2026, after the Natelli New Hill proposal was withdrawn.[8][9]
Swain CountySwain2026-04adoptedSwain County commissioners unanimously approved a 12-month data center moratorium on April 21, 2026.[10]
Rowan CountyRowan2026-04adoptedRowan County commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers on April 20, 2026; the Long Ferry Road project is exempt under state law.[11][12]
Orange CountyOrange2026-04adoptedThe Orange County Board of Commissioners voted 6-0 on April 21, 2026 for a one-year moratorium on large-scale data centers.[13]
Lee CountyLee2026-04adoptedLee County added data center standards to its development code on April 20, 2026 (pre-application meeting, noise study, utility confirmation).[9]
SanfordLee2026-04adoptedSanford added data centers to its development code on April 21, 2026.[9]
ClydeHaywood2026-04adoptedClyde unanimously voted a one-year data center moratorium after an April 2026 hearing.[53]
BooneWatauga2026-03adoptedBoone unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data centers and crypto mining on March 23, 2026.[4]
Jackson CountyJackson2026-02adoptedJackson County enacted a one-year moratorium on data center development in early February 2026.[55]
CantonHaywood2026-02adoptedCanton's Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a 12-month moratorium on data centers, server farms, and crypto mines on February 11, 2026.[3]
Kings MountainCleveland2026-02adoptedKings Mountain approved a six-month moratorium on new data centers on February 26, 2026; council debated a 12-month extension in July 2026.[6][7]
Chatham CountyChatham2026-02adoptedChatham County adopted a 12-month moratorium on data centers, data processing, and crypto mining, effective until February 11, 2027; a judge later exempted the Eco TIP West project.[1][2]
WendellWake2026adoptedWendell adopted a data center pause through December 31 with no applications pending.[9]
Black MountainBuncombe2026adoptedBlack Mountain approved new zoning standards for data centers.[32][30]

Cite this dataset

FOUND, "Where North Carolina has paused data centers", lotsfound.com, 2026. Data from public sources listed below. Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Free to reuse with attribution to FOUND and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0).

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