(The Center Square) – Fiscal responsibility tied to expansion of energy infrastructure needed to support data centers should be paid by companies, says 57% of North Carolina respondents in a new poll.
Requiring large amounts of electricity and water to operate, data centers have cycled into the mainstream through communities both luring and rejecting them.
Tarboro, in the eastern part of the state, rejected a 50-acre $6 billion facility last month. A developer this month withdrew a request in Matthews and in Apex, the project of Natelli Investments is opposed by neighbors and has gained approval from a town advisory board.
Charlotte, Statesville, Maiden and Lenoir are among those saying yes. In June 2024, Amazon said it would invest $10 billion toward its Amazon Web Services data center supply chain in Richmond County along the South Carolina border.
The poll from the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation said 11% agreed with state government or taxpayers funding the expanded energy infrastructure.
The foundation did the poll in conjunction with Hart Research, sampling respondents July 22-29. Results were released Monday afternoon. The survey of 1,126 registered voters carries a margin of error rate of +/- 2.92% and includes an oversampling of 340 in counties directly impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The poll said 69% believe extreme weather is increasing in North Carolina.
Per its website, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation “connects and engages people to protect our natural environment and promote the well-being of our communities. We turn environmental values into NC priorities by engaging people in the democratic process, organizing in communities to connect environmental policies to people’s daily lives, cultivating environmental leaders, and advocating for policies at the state and local level that protect the health and quality of life for all North Carolinians, with an intentional focus on systematically excluded communities of color.”
