On June 4, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein announced that Amazon plans to invest $10 billion to build a data center campus near Hamlet and create at least 500 new jobs. This investment marks the largest capital investment announcement in the state’s history.
Amazon Web Services is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, and its data centers enable customers of all sizes and across all industries, such as automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, public sector, and more, to transform their businesses.
As part of the announcement, Amazon launched the Amazon Richmond County Community Fund, a grant program aimed at supporting initiatives focused on key themes: STEM education; sustainability and environment; economic development; future workforce development; and homelessness, hunger, health, and well-being.
A data center is a physical location that stores computing machines and their related hardware equipment. It contains the computing infrastructure that IT systems require, such as servers, data storage drives, and network equipment. It is the physical facility that stores any company’s digital data. More information is available here.
Every business needs computing equipment to run its web applications, offer services to customers, sell products, or run internal applications for accounts, human resources, and operations management. As the business grows and IT operations increase, the scale and amount of required equipment also increases exponentially. Equipment that is distributed across several branches and locations is hard to maintain. Instead, companies use data centers to bring their devices to a central location and manage it cost effectively. Instead of keeping it on premises, they can also use third-party data centers. More information is available here.
Data centers are a critical part of the digital infrastructure that powers the modern economy and supports many of the services Americans rely on each day. While often operating behind the scenes, data centers make it possible for individuals, businesses, and public institutions to function efficiently in an increasingly connected world. Examples include:
• Communications and Connectivity: From emails and video calls to social media and messaging platforms, data centers enable real-time communication and information sharing across the globe.
• Online Services and E-Commerce: Whether shopping online, booking travel, or managing finances, millions of secure digital transactions are processed daily through data centers.
• Healthcare and Emergency Services: Hospitals and healthcare providers rely on data centers to manage electronic medical records, coordinate care, and support telehealth services.
• Education and Remote Work: Cloud-based learning platforms, virtual classrooms, and collaborative work tools all depend on the processing power and storage capacity of data centers.
• Streaming and Entertainment: Data centers store and deliver content for streaming services, online gaming, and digital media, ensuring reliable and responsive access for consumers.
• Public Services and Government Operations: Many federal, state, and local government agencies use data centers to provide digital services and ensure cybersecurity for public infrastructure.
We work hard to ensure our data centers operate as quietly as possible and do not negatively impact our neighbors. In addition to meeting all local noise regulations, we strive to design our facilities to federal guidance for the health and welfare of surrounding communities, which often are lower than the regulatory standards. We implement several noise mitigation measures including:
Throughout design and construction, we partner with acoustic engineers to keep noise levels low and ensure the facility fits comfortably within the surrounding community.
No, our data center operations will not impact the community’s drinking water supplies or local wells. We will source 100% of our water from Richmond County’s system’s verified excess capacity.
Due to our highly efficient and environmentally conscious water management system, we anticipate using water for less than 7% of the year. For the other 93% of the year, we will pull in the outside air and push it directly to the servers for cooling.
Not because of this project. Water rates are set by the County of Richmond and published in the County’s Annual Rules and Regulations Report of Richmond County Water System. (click here) Any water utilized by Amazon’s data center project will come from Richmond County’s existing surplus capacity which will generate additional revenue for the water and sewer systems without requiring any new investment from the County. All necessary infrastructure improvements will be funded by the project itself, not by Richmond County’s taxpayers. This project does not utilize any water resources outside the county limits and therefore will not affect water bills for County residents in any way.
Amazon is committed to building and operating our data centers in the most environmentally responsible way possible. Our data center projects comply with all federal, state, and local environmental regulations, including those related to air quality, water usage, stormwater management, noise levels, and emissions.
Environmental standards are enforced through multiple layers of oversight, including permitting processes with state and local environmental agencies, ongoing monitoring and reporting requirements, and regular inspections. Amazon works closely with regulatory agencies throughout the planning, construction, and operational phases to ensure full compliance with all applicable environmental and public health standards
We design our data centers to minimize light pollution and its potential impacts on neighbors and wildlife. Our facilities use directional lighting, shields, and timers to minimize lighting effects beyond the property boundary. This thoughtful approach reduces impacts on neighboring properties and helps protect wildlife while maintaining the facility’s security and safety.
$10 Billion
Planned Investment
500
Jobs
$13.1B
State GDP
$150,000
Community Fund
Amazon recently announced the opening of a Same-Day Delivery facility in Kannapolis, along with plans for four new last-mile facilities in Jacksonville, Mount Airy, Southern Pines, and Tarboro. These new sites will improve delivery speeds for customers across the state.
Learn more about Amazon’s other investments in North Carolina
View the story on how AWS will be training for the data center and related jobs at their New Carlisle site. Story is brought to you by PBS Michiana WNIT television.
Kate Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction at Richmond County Schools
Martie Butler, Economic Development Director for Richmond County
Joe Ferrell, Superintendent of Richmond County Schools
Christy Land, President & Administrator for FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Richmond
Wendy Wallace, Director, Career & Technical Education for Richmond County Schools
