Swain County Imposes 12-Month Data Center Moratorium

Swain County has frozen new data center construction for 12 months after commissioners voted unanimously on April 21 to pause permits countywide. (bpr.org) The vote followed a March 31 public hearing that drew about 140 residents, with speakers warning about water demand, electricity use, noise and the effect of large industrial buildings on mountain views. (bpr.org, smokymountainnews.com) County leaders said they will use the yearlong pause to study the issue and draft ordinance language, with resident advisory committees expected to help shape any permanent rules. (bpr.org, wunc.org) A data center is a warehouse full of servers that store files, run apps and handle artificial intelligence workloads. Those buildings can require heavy cooling and round-the-clock power, which is why local fights often center on water systems, substations and backup generators. (energy.gov, congress.gov, epa.gov) Swain County’s decision adds to a fast-moving backlash in Western North Carolina. Boone’s town council unanimously approved its own one-year moratorium on March 23, and Watauga County scheduled a public hearing for April 21 on a countywide pause. (wunc.org, wataugacounty.org) The pressure is tied to a broader buildout across North Carolina, where developers have been scouting rural sites with land, water and power access. Reporting on Swain’s hearing said residents from the Qualla Boundary and across the county connected the issue to a longer history of extraction in Appalachia. (bpr.org) Federal and research groups have been quantifying the strain local officials are worried about. A Congressional Research Service report said one large data center’s direct water use can roughly match 2,600 households, while a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report found United States data center electricity demand is rising with artificial intelligence growth. (congress.gov, eta-publications.lbl.gov) Supporters of data centers often point to construction jobs, tax revenue and the digital services those facilities support, and federal agencies have recently published permitting and efficiency guidance as the sector expands. Swain County’s vote does not ban the industry outright; it gives the county until spring 2027 to decide what rules, if any, should replace the pause. (epa.gov, energy.gov, bpr.org)