Why one North Carolina county said yes to Amazon's $10 billion data center

When Richmond County began marketing one of the largest industrial sites in North Carolina, nearly 50 companies expressed interest.

County leaders say they considered advanced manufacturers, heavy industry and data centers before deciding Amazon's planned $10 billion campus was the best fit.

That decision stands in contrast to a growing backlash elsewhere in the state. More than 30 North Carolina communities have adopted moratoriums or zoning restrictions on data centers as residents raise concerns about water use, electricity demand, noise and quality of life.

Richmond County reached a different conclusion.

"We had the unique opportunity to evaluate multiple projects," said Martie Butler, Richmond County's management analyst and economic developer. "In the end, we felt that Amazon was the best fit for our community."

The project, announced last summer, is expected to be built in phases over several years. The first data center building is projected to become operational in 2027, with additional facilities planned through 2029.

For Butler, the decision wasn't about choosing a data center over everything else. It was about choosing Amazon over dozens of competing proposals.

"This was a county-owned site," Butler said. "We were in control of who came here because we wanted to make the decision that was best for our community."

Richmond County's industrial history played a major role.

Like many rural communities across North Carolina, the county lost much of its textile industry over the past several decades. Local leaders responded by investing in infrastructure, preserving industrial land and building utility capacity in hopes another major employer would eventually come.

Those investments left Richmond County with something many communities don't have today: an industrial site already zoned for large-scale development, adjacent to an existing Duke Energy power plant, with available water, power and transmission infrastructure.

"We have the power. We have the water," Butler said. "Twenty-two percent of our workforce is manufacturing. This was a great diversification of our economy."

County officials said they researched each company that expressed interest, looking beyond projected investment totals.

They examined whether companies had completed similar projects, whether they had a history of following through on commitments and whether they would partner with the community on infrastructure.

"We had several companies that would announce and never come to fruition," Butler said. "That's something we could not afford to do."

Butler said Richmond County contacted officials in states where Amazon had already built data centers, including Indiana and Mississippi.

"They proved to be a very good corporate steward in their community and followed through," she said.

Amazon said Richmond County also stood out during its site selection process.

"North Carolina has talent, North Carolina has land, North Carolina has energy," said Shannon Kellogg, vice president of AWS Public Policy for the Americas. "There are a number of things that we look at when we're deciding on a large capital investment like this."

Kellogg said the Richmond County site already had available transmission infrastructure and sufficient energy capacity, giving the company confidence it could build there.

Much of the public debate surrounding artificial intelligence data centers has centered on water.

Many facilities use evaporative cooling systems during hot weather to keep thousands of computer servers from overheating. Lawmakers in Raleigh have proposed restrictions on some of those cooling technologies, while residents across the state have questioned whether growing data center demand could strain local water supplies.

Butler said Richmond County reached a different conclusion after bringing in outside engineers to independently review Amazon's projections.

"We engaged our local engineering firm, an outside party, along with our public works team and AWS," Butler said. "The numbers matched."

She said the county's existing treatment plant has enough capacity to serve Amazon, even during peak summer demand, without expanding the facility.

Amazon is funding distribution upgrades needed to deliver water to the campus, Butler said, including pump station improvements and larger water lines.

"Any improvements to the infrastructure that they required, they fully funded those," she said.

Perhaps most surprising, Butler said Amazon is not expected to rank among Richmond County's five largest water users once the campus reaches full build-out.

Amazon says its facilities are designed to minimize water use by relying on outside air cooling for most of the year. In Richmond County, the company says it expects to cool its servers with outside air about 93% of the time, switching to water-based cooling during the hottest periods of the year.

The company also says it is working toward becoming "water positive" by 2030 by replenishing more water than its operations consume through restoration projects and increased use of reclaimed water.

Butler believes part of the public conversation misses an important point.

She said Richmond County wasn't comparing a data center with untouched farmland. It was comparing Amazon with other large industrial projects seeking the same site.

Several manufacturing proposals, she said, would have required even more water and electricity than the data center.

"We had so many manufacturing projects that would use more water and were going to ask for more power than a major data center," Butler said.

Some also wanted taxpayers to help fund major infrastructure expansions, including water treatment upgrades and new public safety facilities.

Amazon did not.

"I like to look at them on an even playing field," Butler said. "They're still manufacturing. They're just manufacturing AI space on the cloud."

The Richmond County campus is still under construction, and many of the broader questions surrounding artificial intelligence infrastructure remain unanswered.

Utilities are still evaluating how rapidly electricity demand will grow. Lawmakers continue debating how to ensure large customers pay their share of new infrastructure costs. Communities across North Carolina continue weighing the benefits of economic development against concerns over water, energy use and quality of life.

Butler understands why many local leaders remain cautious.

"My advice would be to roll up your sleeves and do your homework," she said. "I wouldn't just throw up your hands and say no to data centers."

Instead, she said, communities should evaluate who is proposing the project, whether the company has followed through elsewhere and whether it is willing to invest alongside the community.

"They're not for every community," Butler said. "But there are a lot of communities that would like to have one."

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