CHARLOTTE — North Carolina lawmakers are considering new requirements for large data centers and other big power users.
A bill introduced Monday calls for facilities that plan to use more than 50 megawatts to pay higher rates to accommodate infrastructure to power them. Fifty megawatts is roughly enough to power 40,000 homes.
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The bill also requires more environmental studies and requirements for noise mitigation.
Under the bill, communities could also call for a local referendum vote on whether a specific data center project could be built in that area.