Duke Energy, the electric utility that controls nearly all of North Carolina’s power generation, is pushing forward with a natural gas buildout intended to support a deluge of new data centers.
The utility checked off a crucial step in that process Monday evening, when the Davidson County Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning request from Duke to build a liquified natural gas storage facility along the Yadkin River near Lexington.
The county board split over the zoning change, which passed on a 4-3 vote. A grassroots group, fueled in part by public skepticism of data centers, led opposition to the project in partnership with several environmental advocacy organizations…