Ryan Wegener: Franklin County Shouldn't Gamble Its Future on Data Centers

By Ryan Wegener
Beacon Media

Over the years I've been pondering what economic development should actually materialize as in rural communities like Franklin County. Rural communities need real opportunities for working folks, protections for our farm lands, strong public services, and real investments that make our community better for everyone. With the rise of data center developers preying upon rural communities with small tax bases, I'm worries local leaders will place immediate tax revenue over long term consequences.

This week during the Louisburg Town Council meeting, the agenda packet included an extensive consultant report detailing potential data center development. The report names two properties being considered around the town owned Commerce Park and West River Road. The packet refers an actual feasibility study and supporting financial analysis but were not included in the for public view. Hopefully before local leaders commit to any future development plans, the public is allowed to examine the full analysis.

In Vance County, our neighbors have already been wrestling with this issue. Residents there have raised serious concerns about electricity demand, water usage, noise pollution, land use, and the long term consequences that these facilities may bring. Last month, their county commissioners adopted a temporary moratorium after immense public pressure and scrutiny.

Vance is not alone in North Carolina, cities like Charlotte and Raleigh have also adopted moratoriums on data center approvals to study environmental impacts and strengthen local protections. Across the state and beyond, communities are organizing to demand answers about the impacts of these centers before the damage is done. We still need to learn how data center infrastructure demands will affect electrical grids, local water supply, utility rates, and surrounding neighborhoods over the coming decades. Additionally, there is real concern about the noise they generate and their proximity to residential areas and schools properties. State lawmakers are now evaluating new protections for residents and ratepayers, including a possible statewide pause on new development.

Franklin County Commissioners took a step in the right direction by adopting new zoning regulations, but county officials have acknowledged that water allocation policies still need serious attention. Water remains a difficult issue for our municipal and county government in Franklin as well as Vance and Warren. Louisburg needs clear, enforceable, and comprehensive protections of its own before advancing any large project.

I understand the appeal of new investments and additional tax revenue for small towns like Louisburg. But short-term construction jobs are not the same as lasting local employment, and a massive investment on paper does not automatically translate to a better quality of life for our current residents. Once built, these data centers do not often generate many long terms job for local residents.

I do not believe data centers represent the right economic future for Louisburg or Franklin County. At a minimum, our local elected officials should pass a moratorium until the public can review independent research, understand the full long-term costs and potential benefits, and ensure strong local safeguards are firmly in place. Franklin County belongs to the people who call it home, and our future should be shaped by our needs, not decided before we have the facts.

Ryan Wegener is a community organizer and political strategist from Franklin County, NC. This is opinion column is syndicated by Beacon Media and is available to republish for free on all platforms under Beacon Media’s guidelines.