1,000 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 $6 billion, 300-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.
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
Signed,
Edgecombe Neighbors for Data Center Accountability
Why is this important?
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.
Since launching this petition in November 2025, we have gained over 200 signatures. Our presence at monthly board of commissioners meetings has increased local awareness. The county manager's office collected almost 400 community member survey responses about data centers, and 82% were opposed. This led to the county board creating a Data Center Advisory Panel that includes several of our group members, who continue to engage the rest of the panel about the harms of data centers in our community.
One of our group members, David Batts, ran for county commissioner in February and WON on a "no data centers" platform. We're eager to support him when he takes up the role formally in November 2026.
Since launching this petition in November 2025, we have gained over 200 signatures. Our presence at monthly board of commissioners meetings has increased local awareness. The county manager's office collected almost 400 community member survey responses about data centers, and 82% were opposed. This led to the county board creating a Data Center Advisory Panel that includes several of our group members, who continue to engage the rest of the panel about the harms of data centers in our community.
One of our group members, David Batts, ran for county commissioner in February and WON on a "no data centers" platform. We're eager to support him when he takes up the role formally in November 2026.
How it will be delivered
We delivered over 200 initial signatures at the Dec. 1 2025 Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners meeting. We continue to collect signatures in person at our meetings and here online for those who have not yet signed and will present them again when we reach a bigger number.