Edgecombe County

Moratoriums and bans

1. Aug. 3, 2026 Edgecombe County: Moratorium. Commissioners voted 5-0 for a two-year moratorium on data center construction. (Sound Rivers, Aug. 6, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Aug. 3, 2026 Energy Storage Solutions Kingsboro data center · Commissioners voted 5-0 for a two-year data center moratorium. (Sound Rivers, Aug. 6, 2026)
2. Aug. 3, 2026 Edgecombe County: Moratorium · Commissioners voted 5-0 for a two-year moratorium on data center construction. (Sound Rivers, Aug. 6, 2026)
3. July 14, 2026 Energy Storage Solutions Tarboro data center · The company's president said a settlement with Tarboro had been reached and the company would not build a data center there. (Rocky Mount Telegram, July 14, 2026)
4. July 8, 2026 Energy Storage Solutions Tarboro data center · Bisnow, citing the Triangle Business Journal, described the Tarboro plan as a $6.4 billion project on 50 acres still in litigation. (Bisnow, July 8, 2026)
5. July 6, 2026 Energy Storage Solutions Kingsboro data center · The county manager told commissioners the company had withdrawn; the board voted to return its deposit. (Bisnow, July 8, 2026; Rocky Mount Telegram, July 14, 2026; Sound Rivers, July 9, 2026)
6. Nov. 25, 2025 Energy Storage Solutions Kingsboro data center · Residents formed Edgecombe Neighbors for Data Center Accountability to oppose the land sale. (WFAE, Nov. 25, 2025)
7. Nov. 13, 2025 Energy Storage Solutions Tarboro data center · The company asked Edgecombe Superior Court to review the denial, calling it contrary to law and the record. (CBS 17 (WNCN), Nov. 14, 2025)
8. Nov. 2025 Energy Storage Solutions Kingsboro data center · Edgecombe County commissioners unanimously amended the development ordinance to set where data centers may go, covering county land the company offered to buy. (Rocky Mount Telegram, Nov. 12, 2025)
9. Sept. 2025 Energy Storage Solutions Tarboro data center · Tarboro Town Council voted to deny Energy Storage Solutions a special use permit after hearings in August and September; the written order was signed in October. (CBS 17 (WNCN), Nov. 14, 2025)

Statewide

G.S. 105-164.13(55a) exempts from state sales and use tax the electricity and support equipment (power, cooling, servers, networking) for a qualifying datacenter: one where the Commerce Secretary finds at least $75 million will be invested within five years and that meets a wage standard for its area and provides health insurance to its full-time employees; the older (55) exemption covers eligible internet datacenters investing $250 million in lower-tier counties. (North Carolina General Assembly, Oct. 20, 2026; North Carolina General Assembly, Oct. 20, 2026) Senate Bill 730, the Ratepayer Protection Act, was rewritten in the House to require utilities to contract with large data centers so they cover the cost of serving them; the House passed it 69-44 on June 3, 2026, and the Senate sent it to its Rules Committee on June 8 with no further action recorded. (North Carolina General Assembly, Oct. 20, 2026; Carolina Journal, June 4, 2026) Duke Energy reached a settlement in October 2026 in its rate cases (NCUC dockets E-7 Sub 1329 and E-2 Sub 1380) making an existing tariff mandatory for data centers and other customers that use large amounts of power nearly all the time, with upfront payment for dedicated facilities such as substations; it would not apply to contracts signed on or before June 1, 2026 and needs Utilities Commission approval. (WUNC / WFAE, Oct. 7, 2026; WUNC / WFAE, Oct. 14, 2026) Local moratoriums rest on G.S. 160D-107; Orange County cited it, and a Superior Court judge ruled in September 2026 that Chatham County's moratorium could not halt a project already under way. (Orange County, N.C., April 21, 2026; NC Newsline, Sept. 22, 2026) North Carolina data centers →