[ad_1]
Nearly one year after Microsoft Corp. purchased Person County’s 1350-acre Mega Park, residents and activists are raising concerns about the technology giant potentially making plans to build a data center on the site.
WRAL News reported the $26.85 million purchase in October of last year. At the time, it was unclear what exactly Microsoft intended to do with the land. The company didn’t immediately provide a comment when reached by WRAL News.
Now, people living near the site are asking Microsoft and Person County Commissioners for answers about what the company plans to do with the land amid word of potential plans for a data center.
“Why does it need to be such a secret?” questions Fred Hobbs, who lives next door to the mega site. “Why can’t the people of Person County know?”
Much of the speculation comes from a slideshow presentation by American Petroleum Institute Southeast Director David McGowan, presented to the NC House Energy and Public Utilities Committee on March 5, 2025. The presentation was about the state of natural gas in North Carolina.
One slide of McGowan’s report shows information and graphics about manufacturing and data centers in the state and across the country. On a map of North Carolina, McGowan shows a star placed on Person County, labeled “Microsoft data center”.
WRAL News reached out to McGowan on Thursday to learn more about that information. McGowan has not yet responded.
According to Person County Commission Chairman Kyle Puryear, county leaders have not heard anything from Microsoft.
“Right now, no plans have been made as far as I’m aware,” Puryear told WRAL. “We’re uncertain what the project is going to be, but we welcome Microsoft in whatever capacity they would like to come into Person County. We look forward to Microsoft being a good corporate citizen.”
WRAL News spoke with Stephanie Gans, Assistant Director of the non-profit organization Clean Water for NC. Gans has kept an eye on the mega site since Microsoft purchased the land. She has also spoken with people living near the site about their concerns.
“Communities across the state of North Carolina, especially rural communities, have started to voice a lot of concerns about data centers because of their very large footprint in communities,” Gans said. “These are huge, sprawling campuses that take a lot of energy, and usually a lot of water in order to run. Community members are both feeling it in terms of the noise that [data centers make as well as the impact on their local environment.”
[ad_2]