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Ask Matt ... whether a data center could locate here

Facebook opened a huge data center in Forest City in 2012.

By MATT MATTESON, Published: March 28, 2026

Q. I have heard a lot about these massive and unwanted data centers. The cities of Brevard and Canton just slapped a moratorium on them and Spartanburg County’s proposed data center has been in the news. What are the chances that they might build one in Henderson County?

It’s possible but unlikely, at least for now. County zoning has no specific listing for “data centers” but there is one for “cryptocurrency mining operations.” Such uses are only permitted in industrial zoning districts, require a special-use permit and include restrictions for noise.

The Town of Mills River might be a better option for data center developers as three quarters of the Town’s land is zoned “mixed use.” This allows almost all land uses by right. The town is currently reviewing and rewriting its development regs.  

Data centers are typically large, sprawling windowless buildings with endless stacks of humming and blinking servers connected by miles of wire — all tied to the internet. These behemoths handle cloud computing, store your movies and digital photos, and more recently, handle crypto mining and artificial intelligence. And they all draw a lot of electric power which has resulted in unwanted rate hikes in some communities. Data centers call for tight physical security, high-tech fire suppression systems and redundant backup power generators – not your typical cottage industry.

In May 2023, Henderson County commissioners imposed a 60-day moratorium on “cryptocurrency mining,” citing the “potential to cause significant harm to the county’s citizens.” Cryptocurrency mining, the county said in a resolution,  “requires the use of a great amount of electricity for the calculations, and additional quantities of electricity or other cooling methods to disperse the heat created in the calculation process. In addition, cryptocurrency mining creates noise which is often unreasonably disturbing to nearby landowners.”

I pitched the question to the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development, which keeps a sharp eye on potential prospects. “While we have incredible infrastructure at our industrial sites, a data center can deplete the reserve for future projects,” said Brittany Brady, who heads HCPED. “All of these issues combined have led us to not necessarily chase or encourage data centers at this time.” Brady cited concerns about power usage and the county’s limited inventory of industrial locations.

Large data centers can use 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling and some communities have seen their wells run dry. I asked Adam Steurer, Hendersonville’s utilities director, about the impact of a large center on our system. Steurer said the demand would be large, given the system’s average daily use of 7.5 MGD. For efficiency, a data center would likely recycle its water.

In 2008, Lenoir, an old furniture town 90 miles to the east, got a shot in the arm when Google dropped $1.2 billion for a data center. A year later, Apple broke ground on a center in Catawba County. Down the road in Forest City, Facebook (Meta) opened a huge data center in 2012. That complex brings Rutherford County over $1 million in annual tax revenue. Last June, Gov. Josh Stein announced that Amazon will invest $10 billion in a new high-tech cloud computing and artificial intelligence innovation campus in Richmond County. The project is projected to create 500 high-paying jobs.

The closest data center is in Biltmore Park next to WLOS and is owned by DartPoints which has seven other sites in the Southeast. This 23,000-square-foot building stores data for businesses in the event of disasters. Their website boasts that the site “offers natural protection against severe weather.” Puzzling.

So, is Henderson County prime for a mega data center? We have good job training and some relatively flat land, and there is a growing need for computing.

According to one federal agency, the need for data centers will increase by 9 percent each year until at least 2030. Plus, the resulting electricity demand is expected to double as well.

For us, I suspect it’s not a question of “if,” but “when” a corporation might pitch a mega-computing center here.

Meanwhile, momentum is growing statewide and nationally to pause construction of the noisy juice-guzzling plants.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday announced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would block construction of AI infrastructure until lawmakers can review the potential threat of job displacement and higher electricity prices.