Data center restrictions tracker · North Carolina

Lee County, North Carolina: data center moratorium (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

Lee County, North Carolina, adopted a data-center moratorium on March 16, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.

The record reads: "Lee County commissioners voted 6-1 on March 16, 2026 to begin drafting a moratorium on data centers and cryptomining, following a packed public meeting. On April 20, 2026, after a roughly three-hour public hearing, the Board voted 5-1 to… (datacentertracker.org)."

Details

ActionClassStatusDateMW thresholdScopeSource
MoratoriumrestrictionenactedMarch 16, 2026county-widedatacentertracker.org

Jurisdiction type: county. County: Lee County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.

Elsewhere in Lee County

North Carolina context

North Carolina has 49 documented local actions across 47 jurisdictions in this snapshot. There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for North Carolina in this snapshot.

A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.

Sources

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