‘Adopt the solutions’: A look inside Uptown data center amid growing debate

CHARLOTTE — Data centers have become a hot topic of debate and division in many neighborhoods.

In Charlotte, city leaders recently voted to extend their pause on new data center by another year, until October 2027.

But how many people really know what a data center is or how it operates?

In Uptown Charlotte, nestled between the county jail and the post office sits an unassuming brick building on Myers Street. Many people probably don’t know the inside is buzzing with the sounds of computers and data — the currency of the digital age.

It’s operated by a global company called Digital Realty, who gave Channel 9’s Scott Wickersham a tour of the facility.

Wade Hanna, manager of data center operation at Digital Realty, said the center is essentially what people refer to as the cloud.

“It’s everything, TV shows, streaming, phone, Xbox, PlayStation, the internet,” Hanna said.

The growing need from consumers and businesses, as well as artificial intelligence, has created huge demand for data centers. Critics say they use too much water and will drive up energy bills.

Digital Realty Director of Public Affairs Kevin McNulty told Wickersham the Uptown data center has a closed-loop water cooling system that does not continuously need water.

He also argues Digital Realty’s power use can actually help customers. They’re building a data center in west Charlotte that could run up to 400 megawatts of computing power.

“We’re going to have a dedicated substation and we are paying for all the infrastructure,” McNulty said.

According to The Charlotte Observer, it will cost Digital Realty $50 million. McNulty says that substation will help strengthen the power grid for everyone.

At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Robert Cox is the director of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center. He says while some data centers can use massive amounts of power, responsible planning and development can make all the difference.

“If you don’t do the design right, you can use a heck of a lot of water. If you don’t design the power properly, you can also drive up rates,” he said. “In general, the hyperscalers are doing what they can to adopt the solutions to minimize the energy and water footprint.”

This is why many cities have paused the approval of new data centers to allow for more time to learn what those best practices are and how they can be implemented.

Outside the data center on Myers Street, Digital Realty is working on an expansion to add up to 18 megawatts of compute in phases. This plan was approved before Charlotte put a moratorium in place.

McNulty says Digital Realty wants to be part of the process and work with local leaders to find solutions because the demand for data isn’t going away.

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