North Carolina House committee advances bill targeting data center impacts
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A North Carolina House committee has advanced legislation aimed at regulating the ownership, funding, and environmental impact of data centers, as communities across the state impose temporary moratoriums to evaluate their effects on local resources.
The proposal, NC Senate Bill 730, called the Ratepayer Protection Act, seeks to establish statewide guardrails at a time when local officials have raised concerns about strains on electricity and water systems.
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Supporters say the legislation is designed to shield residents and small businesses from rising costs linked to large-scale data facilities.
"North Carolinians are facing rising electricity bills, and this legislation puts ratepayers first by requiring data centers to pay their own way. Protecting our water resources, strengthening energy reliability and preventing cost shifts onto families and small businesses," said Rep. Matthew Winslow, a Republican from Franklin County.
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The bill would require data centers to use a "closed-loop" water system intended to limit consumption and reduce potential environmental contamination.
Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Democrat from Guilford County, said she supports that concept but raised concerns based on experiences in other states.
"I appreciate the notion of the closed-loop water. I've heard concerns about some of these data centers in other states where they use the water to cool or descale, and then it gets in the groundwater or the adjacent surface water," Harrison said.
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The legislation also addresses national security concerns by prohibiting ownership of data centers in North Carolina by governments or citizens of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, which it identifies as adversarial nations. Additionally, the bill would bar local governments from offering economic incentives to attract data centers or using eminent domain to acquire property for such projects.
That provision drew questions from Rep. Ray Jeffers, a Democrat representing Person County, who said his community is pursuing a deal with Microsoft tied to existing energy infrastructure.
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"We are energy Mecca up in Person County. We have two Duke (Energy) plants. We've had three coal-burning plants at one time. And then we got a new gas plant being built by Duke there. And then this mega site was coming online because of the type of transmission lines that we have running between those two plants. Would this hinder that?" Jeffers said.
The bill cleared the House Energy Committee and now moves to the House Rules Committee for further consideration.
