The Durham County commissioners are debating a nine-month freeze on new data centers in the county’s unincorporated areas.
During a Monday morning meeting, residents demanded a temporary ban with “no loopholes,” while the commissioners discussed how to block large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) facilities without hurting local business infrastructure.
The commissioners did not vote on the draft moratorium, but if passed, the document would give county staff time to formally write regulations for high-powered data centers. It would also give the county more time to research impacts of the centers that residents say could strain water supplies, increase pollution and add noise…