Data Centers Flock To Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham

U.S. Data Centers
Photo credit: Courtesy of CBRE

Move over, Silicon Valley: North Carolina wants a piece of the data center pie.

Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are quickly gaining ground in the data center industry, according to a new report from CBRE. The cities have seen a combined 40% increase in megawatt power since 2016: Charlotte has increased by 4.1MW and Raleigh by 6.4.

Data center developers have expressed interest in the region recently, drawn in part to the abundance of shuttered textile factories. CBRE’s Data Center Solutions Vice President Ben Rojahn also attributed low-cost land, power, and Duke Energy’s renewable energy interests as Charlotte attractions for the fast-growing industry.

Additionally, both Charlotte and Raleigh markets “are considered tech talent markets, with Charlotte showing the highest growth in tech talent in the nation, and Raleigh ranking among the top 10 markets,” Rojahn said.

Under the N.C. Mission Critical Operations curriculum, tech classes offered at community colleges prepare the workforce with skills necessary to work in these markets, Rojahn said.

The U.S.’s seven major data center markets include Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York Tri-State Region, Northern Virginia, Phoenix and Silicon Valley, according to CBRE.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Charlotte Newsletters
Related Stories

Wall Street Impatient For Big Tech Returns On Data Center Spending

KKR-Affiliated Data Center Developer CyrusOne Names New CEO

Montgomery County Approves 18-Month Data Center Moratorium

Largest U.S. Grid Operator Scrambles For Power, Warns Of Data Center Outages

New Rules Power Back Up Ireland's Data Centre Market At Last

'WeWork 2.0': Booming AI Startups Concern Some Data Center Execs

Developer Closes $7M Land Deal To Begin Durham Apartment Project

What Charlotte Wants To Learn During Its 150-Day Moratorium On New Data Centers

OpenAI Targets Savannah For $20B Data Center

Data Center Operator To Go Public Via SPAC Merger At $4B Valuation

The $70B Quantum Boom Is Building A New Real Estate Sector

Brookfield's Csquare Misses IPO Target As Data Center Cost Skepticism Rises