North Carolina originally passed its data center tax exemption in 2006. Gov. Josh Stein is calling for it to be changed or repealed, saying it belongs to a different time.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on data centers on Tuesday night. The moratorium would give county staff time to study the issue and draft revisions to its land use policies to consider potential data center applications.

If you need a basic understanding of data centers, we've produced a zine to serve as a guide for what they are, the trade-offs involved, and a starter list of questions if one gets proposed for your community.

There are about 100 data centers in the state that account for up to 3% of the state’s energy demand. That demand is expected to more than double by 2030, as the market for larger facilities grows to accommodate these rapidly evolving technologies.

Data centers use cooling systems to keep its technology running smoothly. These cooling systems can cause local water pollution and strain existing water resources. This comes as climate change makes drought more frequent and severe.

In rural counties, new developments have prompted soul searching about the lack of land use rules, and many are wondering what can still be done.

A single data center can require as much energy as an entire power plant produces in a year. North Carolina's largest utility has proposed the country’s most ambitious capital plan to meet the projected demand from these power-hungry facilities.

As local officials in North Carolina consider whether to approve data center projects or halt development with moratoriums, their decisions are having political repercussions.