APEX, N.C. (WTVD) – Some residents of Apex are voicing concerns about a proposed massive data center near their neighborhood.
The proposed site, spanning 190 acres near Old US-1 and Sharon Harris Road, would include four buildings dedicated to computing and networking for AI and cloud services. The plan has been under consideration for months, and while no decision has been made, many neighbors are actively opposing it.
Although the data center was not on the agenda for Tuesday night’s Apex town council meeting, dozens of residents attended to make their opposition clear.
Developer Natelli Holdings, which has experience with similar projects in Maryland for Fannie Mae and the Social Security Administration, has previously addressed community concerns at meetings. The company indicated it would work to mitigate noise from the cooling system and backup generators.
Neighbors have raised significant concerns about the project’s potential impact on electricity usage, which they say would strain the town’s resources.
“The biggest one for us is just the resources it takes to power that thing. It’s going to take 25 to 30% of the Sharon Harris’ power just for that one center. At least a million gallons of water per day, which really limits the growth of Apex,” Craig Spence, a neighbor, said. “Also, from what I understand, the way they negotiate the contract for the power, they get a discount.”
The town council has emphasized that no decisions have been made and that they are focused on understanding the potential impacts before taking further steps.
“We all recognize that data centers are going to be a problem. They’re going to be a thing that’s going to be coming before us. And what we need to do is we need to figure out what’s going to be our policy way ahead,” Apex Councilmember Ed Gray said.
However, some argue that the debate extends beyond a “not in my backyard” mentality.
Regulation is where they can make real change, said neighbor Ashley Soucar.
“We need all that computing power, but it doesn’t need to be in people’s neighborhoods,” she said, “and it certainly doesn’t need to be the number of data centers that people are throwing money at right now.”
The next step is a planning meeting scheduled for January 22, where more details about the potential impacts are expected before Apex considers any formal proposal.