Western NC activists push for statewide ban on new data center construction

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Party for Socialism and Liberation has organized a petition calling on legislators to pass a statewide ban on new data center construction.

“We see that they pollute these communities, they use a lot of water, and ultimately the cost of these data centers are passed on to working-class consumers,” said Cody Cogdell with the Party for Socialism and Liberation Western North Carolina.

According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a large data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day. That’s equivalent to the use of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.

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“I don’t support them at all. I think it’s terrible for the environment,” said Asheville resident Madeline Boltinghouse.

She says a statewide ban would be nice.

But Ken Brame, with the environmental organization Sierra Club, says the ban is unlikely to happen.

“Banning them all is probably a stretch and I’m just not sure I see our North Carolina legislature going that far,” said Brame.

The petition also calls on the state to repeal the state’s tax incentives for data centers.

“There should be no debate about that. We should not be subsidizing something that hurts our environment,” said Brame.

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It’s also calling on the legislature to stop Duke Energy from raising rates to pay for more data centers.

Duke Energy sent News 13 a statement saying in part:

Duke Energy does not develop or select data center projects, but we do have an obligation to serve customers in our territory while protecting reliability and keeping costs as low as possible. That’s why we require large-load customers to make significant financial commitments and pay the costs associated with serving them, while their additional revenue helps support grid investments and reduce pressure on future customer bills.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are working to pass a bill that would require data centers to pay for their own expansion and regulate how much water data centers can use.