50 signatures reached
To: Edgecombe Board of County Commissioners: Leonard Wiggins, Chairman; Viola Harris, Vice-Chairwoman; Evelyn Powell; Larry Woodley; Donald C. Boswell; Ralph Webb; George Thorne
Don't Sell Edgecombe County to Big Tech Polluter Interests!
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Community residents in the Kingsboro/Bulluck neighborhood and neighboring communities in Tarboro and Rocky Mount, NC are demanding that the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners vote NO on the sale of county-owned land in Kingsboro Business Park to Energy Storage Solutions for a $19 billion, 900-megawatt data center, citing a lack of clarity about community economic benefits, projected impact on resident energy costs, and concerns for long-term environmental and health risks.
The Board of Commissioners meets next on Dec. 1, when they will likely vote to approve the sale. According to a Nov. 5 interview with Data Center Knowledge, Energy Storage Solutions president Dan Shaffer said he expected the 900-megawatt, 300-acre, $19.2 billion project would break ground in early 2026. It would be one of the largest data centers in the Southeast. Shaffer declined to name any investors or vendors involved in the project.
Our Demand for the Board of Commissioners: Vote NO on selling the Kingsboro tract to Energy Storage Solutions.
Edgecombe County economic development must prioritize its own residents -- not big technology companies, not the exploitative AI infrastructure that helps them grow even bigger -- and focus on protecting our rural community resources and quality of life.
Signed,
Edgecombe Neighbors for Data Center Accountability
Why is this important?
Edgecombe County Manager Eric Evans said in a Nov. 12 interview with the Rocky Mount Telegram that Energy Storage Solutions expects “about 500 jobs” to be created by the project; in Data Center Knowledge, Shaffer said the development will “support more than 1,000 employees.” Evans also stated the sale will be 122 acres, while Shaffer said in Data Center Knowledge that the project will cover 300 acres.
The community group filed a public record request with the Edgecombe County attorney’s office Thursday for copies of the latest version of the project proposal to verify these unconfirmed latest numbers.
Lack of information about jobs – how many will actually be created, whether these jobs will be permanent facility-based jobs or temporary construction jobs, and whether Edgecombe County residents will be prioritized in recruiting – is one of many major unknowns that have led activists to oppose of the county’s sale of the land to the developer.
Kingsboro/Bulluck community resident and organizer Janice Bulluck said of the upcoming Dec. 1 vote, “I would hope the County Commissioners consider their moral obligation to their constituents with noise pollution, water usage and pollution, and other unknowns.”
“In the long term, this is not going to be in the best interest for the residents,” Bulluck said.
How it will be delivered
In person at the Dec. 1 Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners meeting