Project Delta

Updates, newest first

1. Sept. 14, 2026 Commissioners again voted 3-2 to rezone the site after a Sept. 8 hearing and a 5-2 planning board recommendation to deny. (WUNC, Sept. 14, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center (party to the lawsuit), Sept. 16, 2026)
2. Sept. 3, 2026 SELC, a party to the lawsuit, released an economist's analysis it commissioned that projects far less local tax revenue than the developer has claimed. (Southern Environmental Law Center (party to the lawsuit), Sept. 3, 2026)
3. Aug. 2026 A court consent order voided the January rezoning and set procedures for a new hearing; the developer had resubmitted its application in July. (Southern Environmental Law Center (party to the lawsuit), Sept. 16, 2026; Southern Coalition for Social Justice (party to the lawsuit), July 24, 2026)
4. July 13, 2026 Commissioners adopted amendments allowing data centers in heavy-manufacturing conditional zoning districts countywide, after the planning board recommended a six-month moratorium. (Southern Coalition for Social Justice (party to the lawsuit), July 24, 2026)
5. March 12, 2026 Community groups and residents sued over the rezoning and a countywide data center text amendment. (Southern Coalition for Social Justice (party to the lawsuit), July 24, 2026)
6. Jan. 12, 2026 Commissioners voted 3-2 to rezone about 1,800 acres for Project Delta, against the planning board's recommendation; the developer said about 998 acres would be built on, and state regulators said no environmental permits had been sought yet. (Spectrum News 1, Jan. 12, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

• Acreage is about 1,800 (Spectrum, WUNC), 1,848 (SCSJ) or 1,850 (SELC); 1,850 is shown.
• The developer projected about $20 million a year in local tax revenue; an analysis commissioned by SELC, a party to the lawsuit, found far less. Neither figure is from county records.
• SELC says the project would rely for years on on-site generators; not confirmed from permit records.