NC WARN is calling on North Carolina Governor Josh Stein to lead efforts to ban Duke Energy from aggressively recruiting expensive and polluting data centers – and to publicly demand a statewide moratorium on new data centers.
Take action at StopDukeEnergy.com.
Quick Facts:
Duke Energy is planning the nation’s largest expansion of fracked gas-fired and nuclear power plants. Its main justification for this expensive and dangerous buildout – which could triple our power bills in the coming years – is the influx of power-guzzling data centers to the state.
Many data centers require several million gallons of fresh drinking water per day to run, equivalent to the daily water usage of a town of 50,000 people. Still, roughly 2/3 of proposed data centers are in areas that have experienced a drought in the past year.
Noise, air and water pollution from data centers are linked to stress, sleep loss, asthma, cancer, and other health issues.
North Carolina communities are pushing back. Data center developments are facing widespread opposition; 35 municipalities in the state have passed moratoriums on data center construction (full list here).
Resources
- Data Center Impact Dashboard (Rooted Futures Lab)
- 7 Data Center Greenwashing Lies (Food and Water Watch)
- When AI Comes to Town (Presentation by NC Environmental Justice Network's Rania Masri)
- Hidden Costs of Data Centers in NC (NC Environmental Justice Network)
- Data centers drive buildout of gas power plants and pipelines in the Southeast (IEEFA)
- List of NC Data Center Moratoriums
Scandal at Duke Energy Hearing
In a regulatory hearing in June 2026, Duke Energy’s top executives admitted that they recruit the very data centers used to justify a $63 billion expansion of fossil fuels and nuclear power plants in the Carolinas.
Duke Energy CEO Harry Sideris boasted to corporate investors, “We have a [recruiting] team in place that their goal, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, is how do we get these things signed quicker?”
Duke conceded that use of electricity has fallen over the long term despite huge population growth, and that it has consistently and grossly exaggerated future projections for years while arguing it must build a huge number of new power plants for electricity usage that ultimately never materializes.
Now, they’ve been caught admitting that they’re actively recruiting new large customers to try to justify the largest expansion of fossil fuels and experimental nuclear plants in the nation.
Enticing data centers to the state runs counter to the overall interest of the people of North Carolina. Such developments are facing well-aimed backlash due to the multiple negative community impacts and creation of very few jobs.
Recent News
Data Center Scandal Grows; NC Governor Must Ban Duke Energy Monopoly from “24/7” Recruiting Used to Justify $63 Billion Expansion — NC WARN News Release
State regulator’s expert calls for data center moratorium after Duke execs’ testimony indicates no other reason for massive buildout of gas-fired and nuclear power plants Watchdog NC WARN today called on Gov. Josh Stein to lead efforts to ban a state-sanctioned monopoly from aggressively recruiting hotly contested data centers – …
SEE ALL Data Centers POSTSScandal at Duke Energy Hearing Kills the Case for $63 Billion Fossil Fuel and Nuclear Expansion — NC WARN News Release
Duke CEO admits “24/7” recruiting of data centers; regulator decries corporate focus on profits over public, calls for pause on new data centers Statement by Executive Director Jim Warren: Durham, N.C. – In a regulatory hearing this week, Duke Energy’s top executives admitted that they recruit the very data centers …
SEE ALL Data Centers POSTS