Data Centers Information

A data center is a physical facility where digital information is stored and processed. There are many types of data centers, from smaller enterprise data centers to large, hyperscale ones. Data centers can vary in their physical footprints, as well as their need for electricity, water, land, infrastructure, and staffing depending on the facility’s size, technology, cooling system, and purpose. 

Data centers can affect land use, infrastructure, public services, residents, and the local economy.

This page provides general information about data centers, Guilford County’s role in the planning and development of data centers, additional agencies that may be involved, and is where residents can find official information about past and future meetings about data centers in the County.  

Guilford County’s role depends on the location of a proposed facility, the applicable zoning and development regulations, and the type of approvals required.
Within its jurisdiction and subject to North Carolina law, the County may have authority over matters such as:

• Zoning and permitted land uses
• Site-plan and development-review requirements
• Setbacks, buffers, screening, lighting, and access
• Compatibility with nearby residential, agricultural, or other land uses
• Certain noise, circulation, emergency-access, and site-design standards
• Building, fire, and other locally administered code requirements

Conditions associated with certain discretionary land-use approvals
The County’s authority does not extend to every aspect of a data center project. Other agencies, utilities, municipalities, and state or federal regulators may have separate responsibilities.

County review is only one part of a potentially larger approval process. Depending on the project, decisions may also involve: 

• A municipality’s zoning and development authority
• Electric utilities and the North Carolina Utilities Commission
• Water and wastewater service providers
• State and federal environmental regulators
• State building, fire, transportation, or utility requirements
• Private contracts, easements, and utility-service agreements

Currently, Guilford County’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) does not define data centers as a use. Current zoning regulations would allow data centers as Light Industrial (LI) or Heavy Industrial (HI) area and data centers would be defined as a warehouse. 

Potential benefits may include high taxable investment relative to ongoing demand for county services, recurring local property tax revenue, the creation of jobs for constructing and operating the data center and support of additional supplier and service sector jobs, and strengthening the regional digital infrastructure and complementing a growing technology and research ecosystem.  

Potential impacts may include significant demand for electricity and water, the need for transmission lines, substations and easements to support utility infrastructure, wastewater capacity and discharge, air contaminants, noise from mechanical equipment and generators, compatibility with nearby development, road access and construction traffic, and fire protection and emergency-service requirements. There are also long-term considerations when highly specialized facilities need to be decommissioned.

Impacts should not be assumed to be the same for every data center and must be evaluated using project-specific information. As the technology involved in data centers continues to evolve, impacts may change.

No. Guilford County does not currently have a moratorium on new data center projects.  

During a Work Session on September 17, 2026, the Guilford County Board of County Commissioners engaged in a work session on data centers and directed staff to schedule a public hearing on a moratorium of up to 180 days on data center development days during the October 15, 2026 regular meeting of the Guilford County Board of County Commissioners. County staff are working through the required processes to comply with the Board’s direction.  

Residents may participate through public meetings of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, Planning Board proceedings, and by communicating with elected officials.  

Meeting dates, agendas, formal notices, and supporting materials will be posted through the County’s official meeting and public-notice processes.

Board of Commissioners Meeting Information

Land-use, zoning, or development questions: 
Guilford County Planning and Development 
[Phone]
[Email]

General County policy or project questions:
[Department or designated contact] 
[Phone] 
[Email]

Media inquiries:
Guilford County Communications 
[Phone]
[Email]