What even is a data center?
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Charlotte isn't alone. Data centers — those big, secretive, windowless warehouses packed with IT infrastructure and almost no humans — are popping up quickly throughout the country.
Why it matters: Whenever you join a Zoom meeting, save photos to the cloud or stream Netflix, you're depending on a data center.
- The server farms store our information. The electrical equipment gets hot, requiring constant cooling that uses millions of gallons of water annually.
What they're saying: Communities are worried about noise, aesthetics, and potentially higher electricity bills because these centers require as much power as a small city.
- Data centers could consume up to 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028, according to the Department of Energy.
- AREP's data center in University City uses 1.2 million gallons of water per day, according to a City of Charlotte presentation. To compare, all of Charlotte Water's customers use 11 million gallons per day total.
By the numbers: Nearly 3,000 new data centers were under construction or planned across the U.S. by late last year, Axios previously reported.
- That's in addition to the more than 4,000 already up and running.
- Facilities typically have 20 to 50 employees each, paying technicians about $54,000 to $80,000, per the city's presentation.
Zoom in: In Charlotte, construction is happening now on a million-plus-square-foot data center complex called "PowerHouse Charlotte" in University City. The developer, American Real Estate Partners, expects to finish the first two-story center in spring 2027.
- In east Charlotte, developer American Tower is seeking a rezoning to build a data center of up to 40,000 square feet on Hood Road by 2028.
- Digital Realty also already has city approval for campuses on Moores Chapel Road and Trade Street in Uptown.
