Microsoft this year plans to begin the permitting process for a data center that is expected to grow the tax base and create jobs in Person County, officials said Tuesday.
The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant paid $26.85 million for the 1,385-acre megasite in 2024. The project has been in the works for almost three years, economic developers say, but the company has been quiet about its plans at the site in Woodsdale Township, which extends to the Virginia border.
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County officials said Tuesday that Microsoft is in the early stages of development but has outlined several commitments. Microsoft plans to “pay its own way” to ensure its data center development doesn’t increase electricity prices, the county said in a news release. Microsoft is also expected to invest in local information technology training and nonprofits, the county said.
A company spokesperson didn’t immediately provide a comment when responding to a request for more information about the plans.
Across the state, proposals for hyperscale data centers built to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing are driving unprecedented demand for electricity and water. That surge is reshaping long-term energy planning, raising new questions about who bears the environmental and financial costs of keeping the grid running.
Microsoft has spent billions of dollars on data centers and other infrastructure required to develop artificial intelligence technology. Microsoft President Brad Smith has been meeting with federal lawmakers this year to examine ways for industry, not taxpayers, to pay the full costs of data centers.
“Local communities naturally want to see new jobs but not at the expense of higher electricity prices or the diversion of their water,” Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The effort comes as data center developers are increasingly running into hostility and facing rejection from municipal boards that oversee zoning applications or construction permits. In Person County, clean-water advocates have already raised skepticism about Microsoft’s plans. Microsoft, however, has promised to minimize water use and replenishing what it uses, the county said Tuesday.
“Data-center projects are highly complex and typically span several years, requiring careful planning, design, and close collaboration with the county, local partners, and the community,” the county said in a statement.
Person County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kyle Puryear welcomed the company, saying in a statement that the project would drive economic growth and “enhance community well-being through strategic investment, job creation, and responsible stewardship of resources.”
The Associated Press, CNN and WRAL staff contributed to this report.