After weeks of public mobilization over a proposal to annex land designated for the construction of a data center in southeast Raleigh, the city's mayor, Janet CowellHe asked the city's lawyer yesterday, September 15, to draft a moratorium proposal.
The Raleigh City Council will consider the proposed moratorium in the coming weeks. If approved, it would temporarily suspend the project.
The facts
On April 6, 2026, the city of Raleigh received an application for annexation of a 13.64-acre (approximately 5.52-hectare) site located at 3101 Jones Sausage Road in southeast Raleigh. The proposal, submitted by RadiusDC, sought to construct the “Radius DC Raleigh I” facility, a data center.
However, in August, after a public hearing at the City Council meeting, in which there was opposition from members of the community, the company withdrew its annexation request.
However, the firm kept its purchase option contract on the property located on Jones Sausage Road in effect.
This led the community to push for a moratorium.
Democracy Green, a statewide environmental organization dedicated to community justice, was among the groups that pushed for the moratorium as a strategic pause to analyze the impacts of these facilities.
Enlace Latino NC He spoke with two specialists from the group not only to examine the urgency of the moratorium, but also to delve deeper into what a data center really is and what its implications are for the community.
What is a data center?
According to Sanja Whittington, a specialist at Democracy Green, a data center is a massive physical infrastructure designed to house megacomputers and servers that process information continuously 24 hours a day.
“They house hundreds and hundreds of computer systems in large buildings and are designed to keep us connected to the internet,” Sanja explained to Enlace Latino NC “They are designed to provide information to people seeking knowledge on various topics.”
According to the specialist, one example of situations in which people might have interacted with data centers is performing Google searches on general topics, including medical matters, among others.
“It’s information that’s easily accessible in our daily lives, something many of us already use without even realizing it. Artificial intelligence (AI) is already an essential part of our daily lives,” the specialist said.
Although these plants operate locally, they process requests for artificial intelligence, filters, and storage for users around the world.
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What implications do these centers have for a community?
For Sanja, the proposed location also raises questions about who would bear the potential environmental impacts of the project.
“In the southeast area, which is historically known as an African American and Hispanic neighborhood, a marginalized community, data centers are really the same no matter where they are,” Sanja said.
“They will produce the same result. Pollution will be pollution no matter where it is located,” he added.
Massive heat emission and urban heat island
La'Meshia Whittington, another Democracy Green specialist, told Enlace Latino NC that a single data center generates a thermal waste equivalent to the heat consumption of 40,000 homes, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“We call this thermal residue, and it can cause a direct increase of up to 25 degrees Fahrenheit in the community’s temperature,” La’Meshia said.
In the case of Raleigh, municipal studies of 2021 They already record that the city is between 10 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than rural areas due to the concentration of asphalt and concrete. For La'Meshia, adding a plant of this type would severely aggravate the urban heat island effect.
Consumption and impact on water resources
Data centers require millions of gallons of water to cool the server climate control systems.
“It can cause water shortages in your community. It becomes a problem for residents to obtain water for their daily lives,” Sanja said.
Furthermore, they raise serious concerns about the presence of synthetic chemicals (PFAS) and about the capacity of the municipal infrastructure to filter them through reverse osmosis systems before they reach the drinking water supply.
“So we’re facing a water shortage. Furthermore, the remaining water will be heavily contaminated with PFAS and similar toxins, since PFAS are embedded in data center components; even the semiconductors themselves contain them. Many people don’t understand that PFAS are persistent chemicals, known as ‘forever chemicals,’ and that they are highly toxic to humans. They never degrade or break down in the atmosphere, soil, water, or our own bodies,” Sanja added.
Constant noise pollution
The uninterrupted hum of the air conditioning systems can be heard up to half a mile away, while periodic testing of the emergency diesel generators extends the auditory impact up to a mile.
“Everyone within half a mile will still hear the noise coming from that data center,” Sanja said.
“And if they have to use backup generators, diesel generators, that noise will spread up to a mile around, in all directions. So it’s not just that noise; it won’t stay only in the neighborhood; it will definitely spread,” he added.
The request for a moratorium
Moratoriums are not prohibitions on data center development. Rather, they are temporary pauses: some last only a few weeks, and others much longer.
“A moratorium is not absolute or permanent, and it doesn’t imply a definitive and unchangeable ‘no’ either. In reality, it gives people time: time to get informed, to investigate, to really understand what will be required and what to expect, and to prepare,” Sanja said.
"To achieve the best possible outcome, should the project come to fruition," he added.
In the case of Raleigh, Mayor Cowell has requested the drafting of a six-month moratorium.
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Whats Next?
At the City Council meeting on October 6, community members will be able to express their opinions on the proposed moratorium. The public hearing is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
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