Show notes
Are data centers coming to Eastern North Carolina — and is there a way for rural communities to benefit from them without sacrificing their quality of life?
In this episode of On the Record, I sat down with Rich Deming, CEO of East Energy Renewables, to discuss the rapidly growing demand for data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, renewable energy and a different approach to data center development in rural North Carolina.
As communities across North Carolina consider data center moratoriums and new regulations, Deming explains his concept for smaller, “community-sized” data centers designed to fit within existing rural infrastructure rather than the massive hyperscale facilities generating controversy around the country.
The conversation explores what a data center actually is, how much electricity and water these facilities require, why AI is driving unprecedented demand for computing power and whether smaller data centers connected through fiber could provide an alternative to enormous hyperscale developments.
Deming also breaks down the potential economic impact for rural communities, including property tax revenue, capital investment, jobs and the possibility of expanding a county's tax base without simultaneously adding thousands of new residents who require additional schools, roads, utilities and public services.
Before entering the data center industry, East Energy Renewables built its business around renewable and distributed energy projects in North Carolina. Deming explains how the company converts poultry agricultural waste into steam and electricity, works alongside wastewater treatment facilities and uses infrastructure that might otherwise be underutilized.
The conversation also examines the legitimate concerns surrounding data centers: power demand, water consumption, noise, neighboring property owners, environmental impacts and whether communities have enough information yet to understand the long-term consequences.
Finally, the discussion expands beyond data centers into AI, the digital divide, economic inequality, capitalism, public trust, social media algorithms and why Americans increasingly struggle to have productive conversations with people they disagree with.
This conversation is not an endorsement or rejection of data center development. It's an attempt to understand what is being proposed, what communities could gain, what they could potentially lose and what questions Eastern North Carolina should be asking before making long-term decisions.
CHAPTERS
00:00 — Why Are Data Centers Coming to Eastern NC?
02:34 — Hyperscale vs. Community-Sized Data Centers
04:36 — From Journalism to Renewable Energy
06:58 — Turning Agricultural Waste Into Electricity
09:35 — How East Energy Uses Steam, Power & Wastewater
13:15 — How an $85 Million Energy Project Gets Built
15:40 — What's Wrong With Hyperscale Data Centers?
17:20 — What Would a 50 MW Data Center Actually Look Like?
20:07 — Why Communities Are Pushing Back
24:23 — Could Smaller Data Centers Work Together?
24:58 — What Does a Rural Community Actually Get From a Data Center? 2
8:39 — Data Centers, Property Taxes & the Rural Tax Base
31:35 — Could Distributed Data Centers Replace One Hyperscaler?
38:17 — How Data Centers Actually Make Money
42:23 — What Don't We Know About Data Center Impacts?
44:26 — The Ideal Location for a Community-Sized Data Center
46:43 — What Would Success Look Like?
48:13 — AI, the Digital Divide & Rural Communities
51:00 — Public Trust, Social Media & Why We Can't Talk Anymore
56:12 — AI, Inequality, Capitalism & the Future On the Record brings you long-form conversations with the people shaping North Carolina's communities, businesses, economy and future.
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