Fayetteville Economic Group Hosts Public Forum on Data Center Plans Thursday
A public meeting will be held tonight, Thursday Jan. 29, to gather the community’s input on Fayetteville’s data center plans.
The Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation will hold a public forum on Thursday about data center proposals in the city. The session runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Suite 401A of the Robert C. Williams Business Center at 201 Hay St.
Two massive facilities have been proposed for the east side of town across the Cape Fear River. Terra Nexus Ventures submitted plans to build a 200-megawatt center on 180 acres on Custer Avenue near the Fayetteville Public Works Commission electrical generation plant and Eastover.
Energy Storage Solutions LLC of Rocky Mount floated a plan for a 300-megawatt facility on 50 acres on Dunn Road. A brochure says the project would be worth $6.4 billion. A Change.org petition opposing this proposal now has over 1,000 signatures.
Robert Van Geons, the FCEDC's president and CEO, said the Energy Storage Solutions proposal is far from certain. "That has never been—that's an important thing there—that has never been a project that was actually under contract," Van Geons said, per CityView. "That was something that caught both the property owner and us off guard when that went public there, when he put that out there."
These facilities power 21st-century communications and computing technology. They can bring high-dollar property values for cities. But they have drawn criticism for their electric consumption, the amount of water they use for cooling, and the noise of their equipment.
Admission to Thursday's forum is free, but registration is required to guarantee a seat. You can register for your seat at this website.
