North Carolina

Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1), meaningful 2026 race (C3), litigation/recall pathway (C4) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Weather/Climate activates on extreme-heat large-load curtailment affecting power infrastructure (W3): U.S. DOE Federal Power Act §202(c) emergency orders in 2026 (including Nos. 202-26-23, 202-26-33, 202-26-33a, and 202-26-35) authorized PJM to direct ≥50 MW large loads — the hyperscale data-center profile — onto onsite backup generation during heat-wave reliability emergencies as a last resort before or during EEA Level 3 (DOE Order 202-26-23; DOE Order 202-26-35). Energy/Power and Capital Flows are co-dominant: SB 730/HB 1063 force full cost internalization onto data centers, ban local tax incentives/subsidies, and require long-term contracts with default/termination ratepayer protections — an explicit anti-cost-shift, stranded-cost regime; the Eco TIP West lawsuit adds direct investor/stranded-capital risk ($11M sunk) (Global Head of DC Energy; News & Observer). Water/Geology stressed via closed-loop cooling mandates and Chatham's 750 MW freeze.

U.S. House NC-04 (Durham/Orange/Chatham/Wake): Rep. Valerie Foushee (D) narrowly won the Mar. 3 Democratic primary over anti-data-center progressive Nida Allam, 49.16% to 48.23%, after an Anthropic-linked super PAC spent ~$700K for Foushee — the proposed Apex data center was the central issue (The Guardian, Mar. 2026; American Prospect, Feb. 25 2026; Wikipedia: Valerie Foushee). Foushee faces Aren Buckhout (R) in a safe-D seat.

No statewide moratorium enacted, but 20+ local jurisdictions have moratoriums/bans since Gates County (Dec. 2025): Chatham Co. (Feb. 11 2026-Feb. 2027), Apex (Apr. 28 2026-Apr. 2027), Wendell (thru Dec. 31 2026), Orange Co., Rowan Co., Boone, Canton, Kings Mountain, Swain Co. and others; Durham considered a 2-year ban (WRAL; ABC11 Apex; WRAL Chatham). Statewide HB 1189 (Datacenter Transparency Act) would impose an Aug. 1 2026-Aug. 1 2028 permit moratorium; awaiting House Rules (LRS bill summary; ncleg H1189).

SB 730 'Ratepayer Protection Act' passed the NC House Jun. 3 2026: bars data-center cost-shifting to residential ratepayers, requires 100 MW+ facilities to pay full service costs, mandates 15-yr utility contracts, closed-loop cooling, site/noise assessments, and bans local incentives to data centers; still needs Senate + Gov. Stein (WRAL, Jun. 3 2026; Inside Climate News; News & Observer). Companion 'Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act' (HB 1063) would require 40 MW+ centers to self-generate 25% on-site clean energy (WRAL, May 2026; ncleg HB1063).

None identified. No NC 2026 data-center statewide ballot measure appears in coverage; activity is legislative and local-ordinance driven.

Apex/New Hill (Natelli Investments, ~300 MW): withdrawn Mar. 2026 after opposition (WRAL Natelli). Chatham Co./Moncure (Eco TIP West, 750 MW, ~$11M spent): developer SUED the county over its moratorium Apr. 23 2026 — first NC lawsuit challenging a data-center moratorium (News & Observer, Apr. 27 2026).

Talent/Workforce is a live theme: opponents (e.g., Allam, county activists) argue promised jobs are few and not local, while proponents frame data centers as economic development; construction-labor and jobs-vs-delivered debates recur in the NC-04 race (News & Observer NC-4).

Fast-growing, concentrated in the Triangle corridor (Chatham, Orange, Apex, Wendell, Durham) in Duke Energy Progress territory, plus Charlotte-region (Rowan, Kings Mountain); Chatham alone has 750+ MW frozen (WRAL).

"Senate Bill 730, the Ratepayer Protection Act, puts our families and small businesses first by making data centers pay their fair share and strengthen grid reliability." — bill supporters, NC House (E&E News, Jun. 3 2026).

WRAL central NC; WRAL SB730; Inside Climate News; News & Observer Eco TIP; LRS H1189; The Guardian NC-4; American Prospect; DOE Order 202-26-23; DOE Order 202-26-35