Home Innovation Data Centers Data Center proposal Withdrawa...

Data Center proposal Withdrawal after Public and Family Opposition

Data Centers

Business Honor - Data Center Plan Withdrawn After Opposition

Business Honor
14 August, 2025

Tract withdraws $30B data center proposal in Mooresville due to resident protests and family opposition.

After strong opposition from residents, a major $30 billion data center proposal in Mooresville, North Carolina, was abandoned. The project was held back before taking a step when the developer, Tract, withdrew its proposal. Data center would have been constructed on Teresa Earnhardt land, the widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, who owned 400 acres of rural land. The location is about thirty miles to the north of Charlotte. Because of the center's high energy and water demands as well as its possible impact on their quiet rural town, several residents were against this idea.

Chris Carney, the mayor of Mooresville, announced the withdrawal on Facebook as a complete withdrawal and not a delay in action. After Kerry Earnhardt’s eldest son, Dale Earnhardt, expressed opposition to the idea, the opposition from the public increased. Earnhardt argued that the manner the land was being used would have angered his father. He and his wife, René, shared memories of family hunting adventures on the property in a YouTube video that called for safeguarding of the land.

About 200 locals attended a public gathering to share their worries. Many others expressed their protests online and posted yard signs. The termination of the project seems like an earned win to them. Mooresville joins other communities, like Tucson, Arizona, in rejecting large tech projects, while the country supports data centers as vital infrastructure in the AI future. Debates about where artificial intelligence's digital foundation should be developed and who will have a voice in that future will continue to grow as the technology advances.