Town of Shallotte board of aldermen approves zoning definitions for data centers

SHALLOTTE, NC (WWAY) — One of the biggest nationwide debates going on is regarding data centers and the enormous amount of energy they use.

In mid-February, a task force created by Governor Josh Stein published a report highlighting challenges the state might face with data centers, including who should pay for new energy generation to accommodate them.

In Brunswick County, the town of Shallotte’s Board of Aldermen took a proactive step regarding data centers by unanimously approving zoning definitions for them last month.

While there are some requirements, such as being fully enclosed with all of its equipment, not using residential roads for access, and not operating any retail or commercial services at the site, the possible impact to electricity bills was not mentioned.

Town mayor Art Dornfield said the approval was aimed at being prepared for any future proposals.

“We have not been approached by anybody who wants to build a data center, but we want to be proactive just in case somebody would,” Dornfield said. “This is a heavy industrial zoned thing, and, uh, Shallotte right now is not have anything zoned for heavy industrial.”

There are already 40 data centers currently operating in North Carolina.

But, according to the website Cleanview, which tracks clean energy and data center projects, no data centers are operating or under construction in southeastern North Carolina.