Why developers come here
North Carolina was an early hyperscale state. Apple in Maiden, Google in Lenoir, and Meta in Forest City all landed in the western foothills in the late 2000s and 2010s, drawn by cheap land, Duke Energy’s low industrial rates, and a state exemption that was written for exactly that kind of project. The current wave is bigger and has moved east: Amazon’s roughly $10 billion campus in Richmond County and Microsoft’s 1,385-acre Person County site near the Virginia line are the two anchors, with Catawba County (Conover, Hickory, Maiden) still adding Microsoft buildings.
The attraction is a single dominant utility that owns its generation and can plan for load, industrial power averaging 7.82 cents per kWh through June 2026 per EIA, low land costs outside the Triangle and Charlotte, and proximity to Northern Virginia without Virginia’s queue. Duke’s 2025 rate case commitments and a 2026 ratepayer bill have added cost-allocation rules that developers now factor into site decisions.
Incentives
- Sales and use tax exemption for a “qualifying data center” under G.S. 105-164.13(55a) and related provisions. The Secretary of Commerce must certify that at least $75 million of private investment will be made within five years, the facility must meet the county-tier wage standard (none in Tier 1 counties; in Tier 2 and 3 counties the lesser of 110 percent of the state average weekly wage or 90 percent of the county average), and it must provide health insurance. Covered items include servers, software, cooling, generators, transformers, and other electrical infrastructure. A separate, older “eligible internet data center” exemption applies at $250 million in Tier 1 or Tier 2 counties.
- Electricity exemption repealed. The 2026 state budget, enacted as Session Laws 2026-41 and 2026-42 in July 2026, ended the sales tax exemption on electricity sold to certified data centers. Per the Department of Revenue notice of July 23, 2026, the repeal applies to billing periods starting on or after 30 days from the July 7, 2026 effective date, and operators must file quarterly reports of electricity tax paid beginning October 30, 2026. The equipment exemption remains. The state estimated the electricity exemption was worth about $20 million a year now and up to $160 million if announced projects are built.
- Further changes pending. Governor Stein asked his energy task force in April 2026 to consider repealing or overhauling the remaining exemption, which the state estimates costs $45 to $57 million a year. The Ratepayer Protection Act (SB 730) passed the House 69-44 on June 3, 2026; it would require 15-year minimum service contracts for facilities using 100 MW or more, bar local incentives to them, require noise studies within 500 feet, and restrict ownership by entities tied to certain foreign governments. It also blocks retirement of large dispatchable plants until a 1,000 MW nuclear plant is certified. As of this review the Senate had not concurred.
- Property tax is local; North Carolina has no state property tax and counties negotiate incentive grants rather than abatements. Richmond County’s Amazon agreement, for example, returns 50 percent of building taxes and 65 percent of machinery and equipment taxes for 20 years.
Power
North Carolina is not in an ISO. Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress serve most of the state, Dominion Energy North Carolina serves the northeast, and ElectriCities municipal systems and cooperatives serve the rest. Large loads negotiate directly with Duke, and the North Carolina Utilities Commission approves rates and Duke’s resource plans.
Duke’s 2025-2026 rate case settlement created a separate, expedited proceeding on a large load tariff. Duke committed to file the tariff by the end of September 2026. Duke’s own proposal has been described as a minimum bill of at least 75 percent of contracted demand for 10 to 15 years; consumer and environmental groups have asked for 85 percent over 20 years for customers of 25 MW or more. Until the NCUC rules, terms are contract-by-contract. Duke has also said it expects to add gas and extend coal to meet the load, which is the center of the political fight.
Water has come up mainly in the Piedmont and foothills, where several campuses rely on municipal systems; Microsoft has pledged to replenish more water than it uses in Person County.
Where the projects are
Three corridors: the western foothills (Catawba, Caldwell, Rutherford counties) where the legacy hyperscale sites are still expanding; the Sandhills and southern Piedmont (Richmond County’s Amazon campus in Hamlet, plus Rowan and Cabarrus proposals near Charlotte); and the northern tier along the Virginia line (Person County). See the tracked AWS Richmond County project below.
Local politics
Richmond County is the flashpoint. Reporting in August 2026 showed the Amazon deal was negotiated under nondisclosure agreements, the county sold 646 acres for $26 million, and the permit allows hundreds of backup diesel generators near neighborhoods that already host heavy industry. Residents say they were excluded; county leaders call it the largest economic development project in state history. Person County had a similar transparency complaint after Microsoft’s 2024 land purchase, and Microsoft held public meetings in 2026 to address power, water, and jobs concerns.
Statewide, the argument is about rates. The Attorney General, the Governor, and the legislature’s Republican leadership have all said data centers should pay their own way, but they disagree on how; SB 730’s nuclear and coal provisions drew opposition from environmental groups who otherwise support cost protections. Local governments in the foothills have mostly welcomed expansions for the tax base, and rural counties actively market megasites.
What a landowner should know
Site selectors are looking for 500 to 1,500 acres with Duke transmission at 230 kV or higher nearby, or a county megasite that already has utility studies done. The state and counties maintain a certified sites program, so a parcel next to a certified megasite has a head start. Option agreements are common, typically with 12 to 24 month diligence periods tied to Duke’s load study.
Ask the county whether it has adopted data center zoning; most have not, and SB 730 would restrict local incentives if it becomes law. Expect nondisclosure requests; you can sign one and still consult your own attorney. The state contact is the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and the exemption certification runs through the NC Department of Commerce and the Department of Revenue.