Guilford County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to triple the length of their data center moratorium, extending the pause on new development to 18 months instead of letting it expire in a matter of months. The vote gives the county far more runway to figure out how, or whether, it wants to regulate the fast-growing industry before any company actually shows up with a proposal.
The new timeline replaces a shorter 180-day moratorium that had been set to run until February 14, 2027, according to WXII. The station reported that the extended pause is three times as long as that original freeze and is meant to give the county time to review its approach to data centers and determine how the facilities should be regulated. Commissioners said the extra time will allow them to consider how to protect Guilford County's resources and residents before moving forward with any new development plans.
Residents Pushed for Even Longer
The move follows an October hearing where the board initially weighed a much shorter, six-month moratorium and ultimately held off on voting. According to WFDD, the vast majority of speakers at that public hearing said six months was too short, with several residents, including Bree Guerra, arguing instead for a 32-month pause. The zoning ordinance does not specifically define data centers, though staff could develop standards for them.
At Thursday's meeting, residents again raised concerns, highlighting the importance of protecting clean water, fresh air and quality of life, and expressing a desire for Guilford County to remain a place where people want to call home, per WXII's reporting. Board Chairman Skip Alston said the board is focused on making thoughtful decisions regarding data center development. “We want to be ready if and when they come, and we want the public's input,” Alston said, according to the station.
No Active Proposal, but Commissioners Want to Be Prepared
Notably, Alston said no one was actually seeking to build a data center in Guilford County when the vote was taken. The board's strategy, instead, is to get ahead of the issue: commissioners said the 18-month moratorium will allow them to work out how to protect the county's resources and residents before any development plans move forward, the station's report states.
Guilford County isn't alone in grappling with the question. Just a few miles away, Greensboro's City Council voted unanimously in August to pause acceptance, processing and approval of development applications for data centers exceeding 10 megawatts, also running through February 14, 2027, per earlier WXII coverage. County Planning Director Leslie Bell told commissioners in September that at least 18 North Carolina cities or towns had already adopted data center moratoriums lasting more than six months, according to The Rhino Times.
A Statewide Pattern Takes Shape
The patchwork of local responses across North Carolina varies widely in both length and outcome. Northampton County became the first municipality in the state to adopt a 32-month moratorium back in May, the longest pause reported so far, while Forsyth County commissioners rejected a moratorium of any length earlier in October, citing concerns about potential lawsuits from developers, per WFDD's reporting. Fayetteville, meanwhile, had not paused data center development at all as of early November, though council members had heard a proposed moratorium framework and task force plan ahead of a public hearing that had not yet been scheduled, according to the Fayetteville Observer. A report published in October found more than 50 jurisdictions nationwide already had shorter pauses in place, WFDD noted.
Underlying much of the local debate is a broader question about water and power strain that researchers are only beginning to study. The North Carolina Collaboratory is supporting NC State researchers examining how data center development could affect water resources across the state's five major river basins. The first phase of that work will model potential data center build-out in North Carolina over the next 20 years and help build a public repository of existing and planned facilities, while a second phase will use hydrologic modeling to isolate the effects of data center growth on stream flow and lake levels, including during drought. North Carolina's Energy Policy Task Force also recommended in a February interim report that the state explore energy and water usage reporting requirements for data centers, the Collaboratory reported.
