Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
A forum on a proposed data center in East Greensboro drew more than 200 residents to College Baptist Church on June 9, where area residents gathered to learn about the growing role artificial intelligence (AI) facilities could play in shaping the city’s future.
“This was something so powerful that needed to be brought to the broader community,” said Lissa Harris, chairperson of community coordination for the N.C. NAACP State Conference and an organizer of the event. “Having the information can help you make informed decisions about what you want to see for your community.”
During the community forum, environmental advocate Dr. Rania Masri, director of organizing and policy with the N.C. Environmental Justice Network outlined concerns about the AI industry’s demand for electricity and water, its environmental footprint and what she described as a lack of transparency surrounding many proposed developments.
Masri opened by distinguishing traditional data centers from newer AI-powered facilities.
“An AI data center is different than a traditional data center,” Masri said. “Artificial intelligence data centers are a much larger warehouse that requires much more energy to generate content.”
Calling AI data centers “an extractive industry from its very start,” Masri argued that they depend on the extraction of energy, minerals, labor and knowledge while contributing to what she described as “an even bigger brother system.”
A central focus of her presentation was energy consumption. Masri said data centers currently account for about four percent of U.S. electricity use and could consume 12 percent by 2030.
She pointed to projections from Duke Energy showing that much of the utility’s anticipated future growth is tied to data centers and warned that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure could strain the electrical grid while driving up utility costs.
“It is key to understand that what is pushing the data center development is big oil,” she said.
Masri also challenged claims that renewable energy can easily offset the industry’s environmental impacts, arguing that clean energy resources should be used to meet existing needs rather than support rapid industrial growth.
Water consumption emerged as another major concern.
According to Masri, AI operations consume hundreds of billions of liters of water annually, much of it tied to electricity generation. She said a single data center can use as much water as 50,000 people and questioned whether North Carolina can sustain that demand while much of the state continues to experience drought conditions.
“Do we have enough water?” Masri repeatedly asked throughout the presentation.
Masri also described data centers as “gobblers of land,” noting that facilities often occupy hundreds of acres and require significant supporting infrastructure. She cited examples of communities across North Carolina that have successfully organized against proposed developments, including residents in Apex who secured a one-year moratorium on new data centers.
The financial incentives offered to developers also drew criticism.
Referring to what she called “socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor,” Masri argued that North Carolina provides substantial tax incentives to data center companies while public schools and other essential services remain underfunded.
She estimated the state would lose billions of dollars in tax revenue during data center construction and hundreds of millions more annually through exemptions and incentives.
Throughout her presentation, Masri linked data centers to public health concerns, including air pollution, PFAS contamination, diesel emissions, noise pollution, light pollution and heat generation. North Carolina is already among the states most affected by PFAS contamination, she said, warning that increased demand for data center infrastructure could worsen environmental exposures.
Masri also questioned the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on employment and civil liberties. She warned that AI systems are increasingly being used to make decisions involving housing, employment, public benefits and criminal justice, often in ways that can reinforce racial and economic inequities.
“The plan,” she said, “is for this computational technique to replace labor.”
Masri also expressed concern about AI-generated misinformation, surveillance technologies and partnerships between technology companies and government agencies.
Despite those concerns, Masri said regulation should come before widespread deployment.
“Let us build the regulations first,” she said, pointing to policies in states such as Colorado and Arizona that require stronger oversight of high water use industries and encourage developers to demonstrate that projects will not negatively affect local water supplies before receiving approval.
The discussion carried particular significance for Greensboro, where a proposed ImpactData “Dream Center” has already received city support.
In August 2022, the Greensboro City Council unanimously approved a $530,359 incentive grant for Atlanta based ImpactData to build a digital infrastructure facility at Gateway Research Park. The company plans to invest $108.5 million and create 28 jobs over four years.
The minority owned company has promoted its “Dream Center” model as a way to partner with colleges and universities, particularly historically Black colleges and universities.
At the time, former North Carolina A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. said the project “will allow the university to expand academic and research offerings in high-demand areas, such as cybersecurity and engineering, as well as further expand our growing presence in east Greensboro.”
Former Greensboro City Councilwoman Sharon Hightower described the project as “a complement to the current businesses that are there in the area.”
Masri, however, raised concerns about the Greensboro proposal’s future growth potential. While developers have publicly discussed an initial capacity of 20 to 30 megawatts, she said planning documents indicate the facility could eventually expand to 300 megawatts.
She also questioned the project’s proximity to schools and neighborhoods in East Greensboro and raised concerns about potential noise impacts and quality of life issues.
“We do not have a law that stipulates that they have to tell us this information or that they have to abide by what they tell us,” Masri said, referring to disclosure requirements surrounding water use, energy consumption and future expansion plans.
Greensboro resident Sandra Isley, who has repeatedly spoken against the proposed project during city council meetings, said she believes residents need more information about the industry.
“If there was anything good about data centers, they wouldn’t be putting it on the east side,” said Isley. “There is so much information on how data centers are destroying our Black and Brown communities and taking away from our quality of life. With the current increases in our electricity bills and property taxes, it’s extremely important that people know and understand that our future is on the line.”
Masri concluded by advocating for temporary moratoriums on data center development, noting that 15 counties and 22 towns and cities across North Carolina have already adopted them. She pointed to Edgecombe County as an example, passing a 32-month moratorium, which is the time limit she also recommends. She emphasized that moratoriums are intended to give local governments time to develop regulations and transparency requirements, not permanently prohibit development.
“A moratorium is just a means, it’s not an end goal,” she said.
As proposals continue to emerge across North Carolina, Masri said the debate is ultimately about more than technology or economic development.
“Do we want a kinder, gentler AI data center?” she asked. “Or do we want farmland in its place and public housing in its place and the sales and tax usage incentives actually given to our public schools and our public teachers and our firefighters?”
Greensboro Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter, who attended the meeting, said forums like this are valuable because they allow elected officials to hear directly from residents.
She also noted that the current Greensboro City Council has not yet discussed the proposed AI data center.
“I’m excited to hear what the community is thinking and saying,” said Abuzuiater. “There are data centers being planned all over North Carolina, and technology is changing every day. I want to learn more about what studies have been done and research all of the pros and cons.”
