Microsoft Person County Mega Park data center, Roxboro, North Carolina

Microsoft plans a data center on the 1,385-acre Person County Mega Park in Woodsdale Township near Roxboro, in Person County, North Carolina, on the Virginia border, which it bought for $26.85 million in 2024. County officials confirmed on February 24, 2026 that the site would be the future home of a data center, and Microsoft said it would begin permitting through Person County this year. About 400 of the site's acres are wetlands.

The secrecy started early. County officials signed nondisclosure agreements for what emails called "Project Energy", and by the time the buyer was public, the land had been sold, a section of Country Club Road through the site had been closed, and Duke Energy was already permitting a new gas plant to power it, The Assembly reported. Commissioner Kyle Puryear said in September 2024 that only four people knew the company was interested and that he had never seen a company this secretive in all his years as a commissioner.

Neighbors are frustrated. "The road closure really is a detriment to emergency service," said Tina Clayton, 71, who lives a few miles from the site. "It takes EMS 11 minutes to go around now," she said. Roxboro restaurant owner Kendall Phelps welcomed Microsoft but said: "They shut our road and they shut my business down by a third of it by shutting the road down. And I'm hoping that we'll get something in return."

At a Microsoft meeting with neighbors in June 2026, residents asked about energy, water and noise. Roxboro City Councilor Kendra Coggins, whose main worry is how much water the campus would draw from the city, said: "It feels like we got a lot of canned responses, but I'm appreciative that Microsoft came out." Olive Burress of the Sierra Club said Microsoft's commitments are voluntary. An Elon University poll that spring found just 24 percent of North Carolinians support a data center in their community.

Microsoft says it will pay for its own infrastructure so utility rates do not increase, reduce water use while replenishing more than it consumes, and invest in local workforce training. Commission Chairman Kyle Puryear said the project would "enhance community well-being through strategic investment, job creation, and responsible stewardship of resources." The next step is permitting through Person County; County Manager Katherine Cathey has said Microsoft is developing its site plans for that process, with development expected to take several years.