Data centers in Edgecombe County, North Carolina: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

On August 3, 2026, to applause, five Edgecombe County commissioners voted to bar new data center and crypto-mining approvals in the county until August 3, 2028. Chairman Leonard Wiggins and commissioners Viola Harris, Evelyn Powell, George Thorne and Dewitt Woodley voted yes; two were absent. Residents had delivered petitions with more than 1,000 signatures, and a county advisory group had recommended an outright ban. "Taking 24 months to gather information, monitor changes in state policy, engage the public and strengthen local protections is a responsible and measured approach," said Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman of Sound Rivers.

The pause followed the collapse of the county's one big proposal. Energy Storage Solutions, run by Dan Shaffer, had sought about 122 acres of county-owned land in the Kingsboro Business Park, between Rocky Mount and Tarboro, describing an eight-phase, $19.2 billion data center and energy storage project powered by on-site gas turbines. County Manager Eric Evans said his team questioned the company's claim of 500 jobs. Separately, Tarboro's town council had denied the company a permit for a related $6.4 billion project, and the company sued. At the commissioners' July meeting, Evans announced ESS had withdrawn; Shaffer said "our investors insisted that we move forward with other projects that we have in friendlier communities," and that ESS expected to settle with Tarboro and drop its suit.

The county's Data Center Advisory Committee, set up after the Kingsboro proposal, has delivered a report whose most-supported recommendation was a ban on hyperscale data centers, and commissioners now have until August 2028 to decide on permanent rules.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.