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Data Center Watch Report · ZIP 28301

Fayetteville

Cumberland

ProposedZIP 67.9% Blackpop 16,221

Proposed — multiple projects; Cumberland County moratorium enacted (county land only); Fayetteville city ordinance in progress. No hyperscale facility operating

Researched: 2026-08-02 · Lead source: Brockovich AI Data Center community map (12 resident reports, 2026-04-29→2026-06-10) · ZIP demographics: 67.9% Black, pop 16,221 (Census ACS 2023) · County: Cumberland (~40% Black) Status: Proposed — multiple projects; Cumberland County moratorium enacted (county land only); Fayetteville city ordinance in progress. No hyperscale facility operating inside city limits as of 2026-08-02.

This report is research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice.

0. Snapshot

Fayetteville is one of North Carolina's most active data-center flashpoints. At least three or four separate developers have circled Cumberland County since early 2026 — a 300 MW project floated for Dunn Road, a Terra Nexus Ventures campus with on-site gas generation on Custer Avenue in the Eastover area, a 225 MW / 2-million-sq-ft PRSM Group proposal, and a "twin" of a $19 billion Energy Storage Solutions project also being built near Rocky Mount. Cumberland County enacted a 6-month moratorium (June 16–December 15, 2026) but it covers only unincorporated county land, not the city. The Fayetteville City Council has been fighting over its own ordinance vs. a moratorium since April, with organized resident opposition at multiple meetings. ZIP 28301 is the majority-Black core of the city; several of the industrial districts eyed for "by-right" data centers directly border established residential neighborhoods.

1. The Facility & Where It Sits

No single approved facility yet — this is a cluster of live proposals:

  • Dunn Road — 300 MW (proposed). Reported as one of two data centers "eyeing Fayetteville." Capacity 300 MW; developer not publicly named in coverage. (BizFayetteville, Jan 2026)
  • Custer Avenue / Eastover — Terra Nexus Ventures (Charlotte). In documents submitted to the city, Terra Nexus said it plans a campus on Custer Avenue in the Eastover area, including a planned on-site gas generation facility. The land is outside city limits but would be annexed into Fayetteville. (CityView)
  • PRSM Group (Charlotte / Arlington, VA) — 225 MW. Partner Eric Little described a 50-acre, ~225 MW project built in two ~1-million-sq-ft phases to power AI services, using a closed-loop water immersion cooling system, 15–18 month build, ~1,500 construction jobs. Location given only as an unspecified "industrial park … not near residences." (CityView, hearing May 18, 2026)
  • Energy Storage Solutions "twin." Dan Shaffer, president of Rocky Mount–based Energy Storage Solutions, told Data Center Knowledge the company plans a Fayetteville project with a footprint comparable to its 900 MW, $19.2B Kingsboro/Edgecombe campus — a natural-gas-powered, self-generating design.

Where it sits: proposals cluster on the east/Eastover side and in industrial-zoned corridors. Fayetteville's own draft ordinance would have allowed data centers "by right" in industrial districts that directly border established residential neighborhoods — a central objection from opponents. ZIP 28301 (majority-Black central Fayetteville) sits inside that industrial-adjacent footprint.

2. Public Hearings & Notices

Cumberland County Board of Commissioners

  • Mar 23, 2026 — public hearing on data centers.
  • Apr 20, 2026 — commissioners decide to hold another hearing on a moratorium.
  • May 18, 2026 — hearing; PRSM 225 MW proposal disclosed; 21 speakers, chamber at capacity (~100). No formal action.
  • Jun 15, 2026 — voted 7–0 to enact a 6-month moratorium; effective Jun 16 – Dec 15, 2026. Applies to unincorporated county only (not the Fayetteville city limits). Chair Kirk deViere and Commissioner Pavan Patel quoted.

Fayetteville City Council

  • Apr 13, 2026 — voted 5–4 to pause the draft data-center ordinance and explore a moratorium instead.
  • Apr 27, 2026 — approved a 120-day pause.
  • Jun 8, 2026 — voted 8–2 to schedule a public hearing on a data-center ordinance for August 10, 2026; moratorium discussion postponed to August 25, 2026. Councilman Nate Baker is behind the moratorium proposal; Mayor Mitch Colvin. Voting against advancing the ordinance: Shaun McMillan, Lynne Greene, Antonio Jones.
  • Jul 21, 2026 — the Town of Eastover sent a formal letter to the City of Fayetteville regarding data centers (posted on eastovernc.com).

Verify current agendas via the city's Legistar portal (cityoffayetteville.legistar.com) and the county's CivicClerk portal (cumberlandconc.portal.civicclerk.com).

3. Power

Fayetteville PWC (Public Works Commission) is the city-owned utility — electric, water, and wastewater — unusual for a city this size. PWC is governed by a 4-member independent commission appointed by the City Council to staggered 4-year terms (members include Donald L. Porter and Dr. Christopher G. Davis, per faypwc.com). PWC purchases power from Duke Energy Progress and the Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) via three 230 kV delivery points; historical peak load is roughly 480–500 MW — meaning a single 300 MW data center would be a system-scale load. A data center inside city limits would connect through PWC; one annexed from the county (e.g., Terra Nexus) would too. Terra Nexus's proposed on-site gas generation is a way around grid-capacity limits.

Statewide context: Duke Energy raised its 2035 large-customer demand forecast to 8 GW in the Carolinas (up 2 GW), mostly data centers. The NC Utilities Commission is running a large-load proceeding; Duke and the Public Staff agreed to file a special large-load/data-center tariff by end of September 2026, and Gov. Stein and others are pressing to make Duke's federal ratepayer-protection pledge legally binding. Who pays for new generation and transmission is the open question.

4. Water & Drought

PWC's primary drinking-water source is the Cape Fear River; PWC has been a regional leader on Cape Fear PFAS/industrial-discharge reduction. PRSM's proposal claims a closed-loop water immersion system (lower continuous draw), but no water-withdrawal permit or volume has been filed publicly for any project as of 2026-08-02. Drought: Cumberland County was in D2 (Severe) to D3 (Extreme) drought through July 2026 (U.S. Drought Monitor / NC Drought Management Advisory Council) — a material backdrop for any large cooling or gas-generation load.

5. Population & Who Lives Here

ZIP 28301 is 67.9% Black, population 16,221 — the historic majority-Black core of Fayetteville, inside a county that is roughly 40% Black. This is the classic environmental-justice pattern the project documents: the industrial corridors flagged for "by-right" data centers sit next to the city's Black neighborhoods, while much of the surrounding county is whiter. Fayetteville is a military town (Fort Bragg/Fort Liberty region); 28301 includes older, lower-income central neighborhoods.

6. Money — Abatements, Incentives, Jobs

  • PRSM (225 MW): ~1,500 construction jobs, 15–18 months; permanent headcount not disclosed (data centers typically employ dozens once operating).
  • Energy Storage Solutions twin: figures not separately released for Fayetteville; its Edgecombe sibling claims $75M/yr in county tax but its own filings show only ~69 permanent jobs (see Rocky Mount report).
  • No PILOT / abatement dollar figures have been published for any Fayetteville-area project as of 2026-08-02. Not found as of 2026-08-02.
  • Robert Van Geons (Fayetteville-Cumberland Economic Development Corp) has publicly urged a "community-wide conversation" rather than announcing a deal.

7. Community Reaction & News Coverage

Local outlets: CityView (cityviewnc.com) has the deepest running coverage; also BizFayetteville, the Fayetteville Observer, ABC11, CBS17, WRAL. Organized opposition has packed council and commission meetings: the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Action NC, and Fayetteville Freedom for All. PSL organizer Kristen Starks framed it as opposition to "greedy developers" controlling local resources, not to technology. Councilman McMillan warned the ordinance could be a "green light" that becomes permanent under state down-zoning limits. The Town of Eastover formally objected in July.

8. Find Out For Yourself

City of Fayetteville — City Hall, 433 Hay Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301. Main: (910) 433-1329.

  • City Clerk's Office: (910) 433-1989 — agendas, minutes, meeting schedule. Council meets in the City Hall Council Chambers (evening sessions ~6:30 p.m.). Agendas: cityoffayetteville.legistar.com.
  • Mayor Mitch Colvin; Councilman Nate Baker (moratorium sponsor). Ask the Clerk which council district covers your address and who your member is.

Cumberland County Board of Commissioners — County Courthouse, 117 Dick Street, Room 118, Fayetteville. Mailing: PO Box 1829, Fayetteville, NC 28302. Meets 1st Monday 9 a.m. and 3rd Monday 6:45 p.m. Agenda procedure: County Manager's office (910) 678-7723. Agendas: cumberlandconc.portal.civicclerk.com.

Fayetteville PWC — faypwc.com; PWC Commission meeting notices are also posted on the city calendar (fayettevillenc.gov). Ask about large-load interconnection studies.

NC Utilities Commission — ncuc.gov; file/read comments in the large-load / data-center tariff docket. Public Staff (consumer advocate): ncuc.gov/publicstaff.

Questions worth asking:

  1. Will the August 10 ordinance let data centers go "by right" in industrial zones next to 28301 neighborhoods, with no case-by-case hearing?
  2. If a county project (Custer Avenue/Terra Nexus) is annexed into the city, who approves it and when?
  3. Will PWC ratepayers — or the data center — pay for new substations and generation? What does the Duke large-load tariff at the NCUC require?
  4. How much water, from where, and under what permit — during an ongoing Extreme Drought?
  5. What are the enforceable noise, air (gas turbine/diesel), and setback limits?
  6. Are there any tax abatements or PILOTs on the table, and what permanent jobs are guaranteed in writing?

9. If You're Thinking About Moving Here

Nothing is built or approved inside city limits yet, but 28301 is the ZIP most exposed if the city's ordinance passes as first drafted — its industrial edges abut homes. Watch three things before deciding: (1) the August 10 / August 25 council decisions on ordinance-vs-moratorium and whether "by-right" survives; (2) whether any project brings on-site gas turbines (Terra Nexus, Energy Storage Solutions) near residential air-sheds; (3) power cost — Fayetteville is served by municipal PWC, so a giant new load could pressure local rates depending on how the NCUC tariff and Duke wholesale contracts allocate costs. Cumberland is in Extreme Drought. All of this is unresolved as of 2026-08-02.

10. Sources

Lead source: resident reports on the Brockovich AI Data Center community map, then independently verified against public records. Research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice. Some resident-reported pins remain uncorroborated and are labeled as such above.