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The $38 billion North Carolina data-center program is no longer accurately described as forging ahead. Energy Storage Solutions, the developer behind the plan, withdrew its offer to purchase land for the largest proposed component in Edgecombe County in July 2026. County officials reportedly returned the deposit while considering a possible moratorium on new data-center development.
The original announcement described two proposed campuses—one near Tarboro and another associated with Fayetteville—not a single $38 billion facility. The combined figure represented the developer’s projected, phased investment, not money already financed, spent, or committed.
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What Energy Storage Solutions originally proposed
On November 5, 2025, Data Center Knowledge reported that North Carolina-based Energy Storage Solutions planned two large data-center and energy-storage campuses. The company is led by president Dan Shaffer.
The larger proposal was a $19.2 billion campus at the Kingsboro development near Tarboro in Edgecombe County. The developer described a similar project associated with Fayetteville, bringing the announced program to approximately $38 billion.
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Those figures were plans and projections. The available reporting did not establish a financing close, named investors, hyperscale customer, signed tenant agreement, utility interconnection agreement, or construction contract. The developer also did not disclose its investors or vendors.
The Kingsboro proposal
Energy Storage Solutions described the Kingsboro campus as a roughly 900-megawatt, 300-acre development. It was expected to be built in about 24 phases over three to five years, with approximately a dozen buildings of about 40,000 square feet each, according to the developer’s description.
The company said each campus could employ more than 1,000 people and projected roughly $75 million in annual tax revenue for Edgecombe County. It also cited a potential contribution of approximately $176 million toward local energy-infrastructure upgrades.
These were developer estimates rather than independently audited outcomes. They also did not clarify how many jobs would be temporary construction positions versus permanent data-center, security, maintenance, technical, and administrative roles. Similarly, the tax estimate would depend on assessed values, the pace of construction, any incentives, and the cost of infrastructure borne by public entities.
Why power and water became central issues
A 900 MW data-center campus is a major power-infrastructure project as well as a real-estate development. The company said it intended to use on-site natural-gas generation and energy storage, with the possibility of selling surplus electricity. The available coverage did not identify the final generators, air permits, utility agreements, emissions controls, or arrangements for selling power.
Residents and environmental groups also questioned water demand, noise, light pollution, emissions, and rural land use. Local reporting cited concerns that the project could require as much as six million gallons of water per day. That figure was a reported concern—not a confirmed final engineering requirement. Water use would depend on the cooling design, rack density, climate, operating conditions, and whether the facility used potable, reclaimed, or industrial water.
The debate reflected a broader question for communities considering data centers: whether projected jobs and tax revenue will outweigh water-service demands, grid upgrades, environmental impacts, and public costs.
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Zoning permission was not permission to build
In November 2025, Edgecombe County commissioners amended the county’s Unified Development Ordinance to permit qualifying data centers in specified industrial districts. Reporting described the change as allowing data centers in certain M-2 General Industrial areas without the same project-specific rezoning or special-use approval that might otherwise have been required.
That kind of zoning text amendment does not by itself prove that a particular project is approved for construction. It is separate from project-specific rezoning, special-use permits, building permits, environmental review, air-quality permits, water approvals, utility interconnection, financing, and land closing. The distinction matters because a development can be compatible with zoning while still lacking the approvals or infrastructure needed to start work.
The latest Kingsboro status
The original November announcement targeted a Kingsboro groundbreaking in the first quarter of 2026. Community and environmental concerns continued into late 2025 and early 2026. Then, in early July 2026, Energy Storage Solutions withdrew its offer to purchase the Kingsboro land.
Data Center Dynamics, Sound Rivers, and Bisnow reported the withdrawal and the county’s consideration of a possible 24-month moratorium on new data-center development. County officials reportedly returned the developer’s deposit.
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As of August 16, 2026, available reporting did not verify a Kingsboro groundbreaking, construction start, financial close, or operating facility. The Kingsboro plan is therefore best described as withdrawn, canceled, or no longer under active county consideration—not as a project moving toward completion.
Do not confuse Kingsboro with the earlier Tarboro proposal
Energy Storage Solutions had also proposed a separate, smaller Tarboro-area project estimated at approximately $6.4 billion and 100 MW. Edgecombe County commissioners previously rejected that proposal, and later coverage reported an appeal or related legal dispute.
That project should not be merged with the $19.2 billion Kingsboro proposal. They were separate developments, even though both involved Energy Storage Solutions and the same general area.
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What is known about Fayetteville?
The Fayetteville component was part of the original explanation for the approximately $38 billion total, but its current status is not established by the available reporting. There is not enough evidence to call it an active $19.2 billion construction project or to say that it has secured financing, land, customers, permits, or utility capacity.
The responsible description is that Fayetteville was a separately mentioned proposal whose present status remains unverified. The withdrawal of the Kingsboro land offer also means the original two-campus program should not be treated as a single active buildout.
How to read the $38 billion figure
| Milestone | What the available evidence shows |
|---|---|
| Announced plan | Yes. The developer described a combined program worth approximately $38 billion. |
| Land under contract | The Kingsboro land-purchase offer was withdrawn in July 2026. |
| Permitted project | A county zoning amendment did not establish that all project permits had been issued. |
| Financing closed | Not established by the available reporting. |
| Construction started | No verified Kingsboro groundbreaking was reported by August 16, 2026. |
| Facility operating | No. |
| Customer capacity contracted | No named cloud or AI customer was disclosed. |
This distinction is important for business readers and local taxpayers. A proposed investment can generate economic-development expectations without producing actual construction spending, tax revenue, jobs, or infrastructure improvements.
What the setback says about data-center development in North Carolina
North Carolina remains attractive for large-scale digital infrastructure, but the Kingsboro episode shows why announcements do not automatically become operating facilities. Developers must align land, zoning, water, electric service, generation plans, environmental permits, financing, construction, and customer demand.
Local governments also retain leverage over land use and public infrastructure. Even when a zoning framework is changed to accommodate data centers, opposition over water, noise, emissions, grid costs, and transparency can lead to litigation, moratoria, delayed approvals, or failed land transactions.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →For now, the accurate takeaway is narrower than the original headline: Energy Storage Solutions announced a potential $38 billion, two-campus program in 2025, but the largest Edgecombe County project was withdrawn in July 2026, and the Fayetteville proposal’s current status has not been independently verified.
