North Carolina data center moratoriums
As of 31 Oct 2026, we count at least 51 local data center pauses in force in North Carolina, no bans and 7 proposals, across its counties and cities. At state level, a bill or proposal is pending.
- 51 pauses in force · 0 bans · 7 proposed
- 4 pauses end within 60 days
- Checked: 100 counties, 443 cities · 58 on tracker
Cite this page
Source: Grounded Compute, North Carolina moratorium tracker, 31 Oct 2026. https://groundedcompute.com/us/north-carolina/moratoriums
Every row below has its source and the date we checked it. For reporters: contact and corrections
State level · Bill or proposal, not passed
From 1 Aug 2026
Datacenters defined in the bill as facilities designed to have a load of 100 megawatts or more.
ncleg.govGovernment confirmedChecked 31 Oct 2026
Not counted in the local figures above.
Expiring by 30 Dec 2026
- 13 Nov 2026Vance CountyPausewizs.comNews reported
- 13 Dec 2026Mount Airy (city)Pause, extendedwxii12.comNews reported
- 15 Dec 2026Cumberland CountyPausecumberlandcountync.govGovernment confirmed
- 17 Dec 2026Gates CountyPausegatescountyindex.comNews reported
Moratorium map · counties
- Ban: 0 counties
- Pause (active or extended): 20 counties
- Pause proposed: 2 counties
- End date passed, no update found: 0 counties
- Ended, expired or none found: 61 counties
- No government or news source found: 17 counties
- City: ban
- City: pause
- City: pause proposed
- 100 counties checked · 31 Oct 2026
- Cities on the tracker drawn as dots (36)
- Schematic; outlines: US Census
Tracker · 58 bans, pauses and proposals
- Rows grouped under their count; each count matches the figures at the top
- 26 government confirmed · 32 news reported
- Ended pauses and no-pause checks: on the map only. We checked counties and cities; nothing found is not proof that none exists
- Method
| Jurisdiction | Status | Covers | End | Permanent rules | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pauses in force (51) | |||||
| Alamance County | Pause | All data centers | 17 Aug 2027 | – | alamancenews.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Apex (city, Wake) | Pause | All data centers | 27 Apr 2027 | – | centralpinesnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Asheville (city, Buncombe) | Pause | All data centers | 22 Jun 2027 | – | wlos.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Bath (city, Beaufort) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | co.beaufort.nc.us Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Beaufort County | Pause | All data centers | – | – | witn.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Boiling Spring Lakes (city, Brunswick) | Pause | All data centers | 2 Jun 2027 | – | cityofbsl.org Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Boone (city, Watauga) | Pause | All data centers | 23 Mar 2027 | – | wunc.org News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Bryson City (city, Swain) | Pause | Other | – | – | brysoncitync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Camden County | Pause | All data centers | 3 Jan 2027 | – | camdentribune.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Canton (city, Haywood) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | smokymountainnews.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Cary (city, Chatham) | Pause | Above a size threshold: Facilities under 1 MW are exempt; the source gives the end only as February 2028. | – | – | abc11.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Chatham County | Pause | All data centers | 11 Feb 2027 | Rules drafted | chathamcountync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Clyde (city, Haywood) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | smokymountainnews.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Columbus County | Pause | Above a size threshold: Certain data-center development and similar high-intensity data-processing facilities; the pause applies outside municipal limits and municipal planning areas. | – | – | nrcolumbus.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Cumberland County | Pause | Other | 15 Dec 2026 | Rules drafted | cumberlandcountync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Durham County | Pause | Above a size threshold: Facilities over 100,000 sq. ft.; exemptions apply. | 18 May 2027 | – | centralpinesnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Farmville (city, Pitt) | Pause | Other | – | – | farmvillenc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Franklin (city, Macon) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | smokymountainnews.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Garner (city, Wake) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | centralpinesnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Gates County | Pause | All data centers | 17 Dec 2026 | Rules drafted | gatescountyindex.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Greensboro (city, Guilford) | Pause | Above a size threshold: Data centers and similar data storage or processing facilities with electrical power demand exceeding 10 megawatts | 14 Feb 2027 | – | greensboro-nc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Haywood County | Pause | – | – | Rules adopted | wlos.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Hendersonville (city, Henderson) | Pause | All data centers: Covers data centers, cryptomining, AI data centers, server farms and similar facilities; accessory data centers up to 1,000 square feet are exempt. | 2 Sep 2027 | – | blueridgenow.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Highlands (city, Macon) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | highlandsnews.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Holly Springs (city, Wake) | Pause | All data centers | 16 Jun 2027 | – | centralpinesnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Jackson County | Pause | All data centers | 18 Aug 2027 | – | jacksonnc.org Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| McDowell County | Pause | All data centers | – | – | mcdowellnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Newport (city, Carteret) | Pause | Other | – | – | publicradioeast.org News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Northampton County | Pause | Other | 4 Jan 2029 | Rules drafted | roanoke-chowannewsherald.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Orange County | Pause | Above a size threshold: Large-scale data centers; no specific size measurement stated in the source. | – | Rules drafted | orangecountync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Raleigh (city, Wake) | Pause | Above a size threshold: Applies to data centers exceeding 10,000 square feet. | 6 Apr 2027 | – | raleighnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Rowan County | Pause | Other | 4 May 2027 | – | rowancountync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Salisbury (city, Rowan) | Pause | All data centers | – | Rules adopted | yahoo.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Southport (city, Brunswick) | Pause | All data centers | 9 Dec 2027 | – | portcitydaily.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Statesville (city, Iredell) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | wbtv.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Swain County | Pause | Other | – | – | bpr.org News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Trinity (city, Randolph) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | yahoo.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Vance County | Pause | All data centers | 13 Nov 2026 | Rules drafted | wizs.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Warren County | Pause | All data centers | 19 Aug 2027 | – | warrenrecord.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Watauga County | Pause | All data centers | 21 Apr 2027 | – | wataugacounty.org Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Waxhaw (city, Union) | Pause | All data centers | 10 Aug 2027 | – | waxhaw.com Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Wendell (city, Wake) | Pause | All data centers | 31 Dec 2026 | – | centralpinesnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Whiteville (city, Columbus) | Pause | All data centers | 25 Aug 2027 | Rules drafted | wect.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Wilson (city, Wilson) | Pause | Above a size threshold: Large data operations; no numeric size threshold stated | 21 May 2027 | – | wilsontimes.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Woodfin (city, Buncombe) | Pause | All data centers | – | – | wlos.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Yadkin County | Pause | All data centers | – | – | yadkincountync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Charlotte (city, Mecklenburg) | Pause, extended | All data centers | 18 Oct 2027 | – | charlottenc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Durham (city, Durham) | Pause, extended | All data centers | 3 May 2027 | – | durhamnc.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Kings Mountain (city, Cleveland) | Pause, extended | All data centers | 25 Aug 2027 | Rules drafted | qcnews.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Mount Airy (city, Surry) | Pause, extended | All data centers | 13 Dec 2026 | Rules drafted | wxii12.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Surry County | Pause, extended | All data centers | 20 Jul 2028 | Rules drafted | whqr.org News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Proposed (7) | |||||
| Caswell County | Pause proposed | – | – | – | caswellcountync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Edenton (city, Chowan) | Pause proposed | – | – | Rules drafted | albemarleobserver.news News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Elizabeth City (city, Pasquotank) | Pause proposed | All data centers | – | Rules drafted | elizabethcitync.gov Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Elizabethtown (city, Bladen) | Pause proposed | All data centers | – | Rules drafted | cdn.townweb.com Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Lewisville (city, Forsyth) | Pause proposed | – | – | – | lewisvillenc.net Government confirmed Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Lumberton (city, Robeson) | Pause proposed | Some zoning districts | – | Rules drafted | robesonian.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Pitt County | Pause proposed | – | – | – | witn.com News reported Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
– = not found in the sources we checked
Source: Grounded Compute, North Carolina moratorium tracker, 31 Oct 2026. https://groundedcompute.com/us/north-carolina/moratoriums
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