Permits
Permits checklist
4 checked, nothing on file
Approvals a campus like this normally needs (including an air permit for backup or on-site generators), and what we found.
- –Checked, nothing on file: Land purchase or option, Rezoning, special use or site plan, Air permit for a 300 MW gas plant, Utility certificate
Risks
Why it stopped, what could revive it
- HighNo land, power or filingsLocal officials say the project is not real: no land contract, no power or gas deal, and no application with any agency. News report · March 2026
- HighSponsor has exited related dealsThe sponsor withdrew its Kingsboro land offer in July 2026, and its separate Tarboro project was denied. News report · July 2026
- MediumLocal moratoria and oppositionThe county paused data center permits in June 2026 and residents gathered over 1,400 signatures for a moratorium. News report · Aug. 2026
Power
Power and the grid
None energized or contracted yet
Behind-the-meter natural gas (claimed)Claimed, never built
the sponsor said it would generate all power with gas; the city's development agency says there is no gas capacity on that line section and no offer or contract on power Dataset · Aug. 2026
Proposed
Getting on the grid
Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.
- As of March 2026No power offer or contractThe county development agency says the sponsor had no offer or contract on power and that gas capacity does not exist on that section of the line. News report · March 2026
- Feb. 17, 2026City opens data center rulesFayetteville begins its first data center ordinance, requiring special-use review for campuses with on-site generation beyond emergency standby. Local government · Feb. 2026
- Not setState utility and air filings: noneNo utility commission docket or air-permit application by the sponsor was found. see Permits
- The electric utility at the site is Fayetteville Public Works Commission; it has no agreement with the sponsor. Local government · Feb. 2026
Timeline
What happened, and what is due
SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
- Nov. 5, 2025Site The sponsor announces a Fayetteville campus as the twin of its 900 MW Kingsboro project News report · Nov. 2025
- Jan. 7, 2026Legal Residents organize against the proposal, citing gas turbines, water use and utility bills News report · Jan. 2026
- Jan. 2026Site The site owner says the land was never under contract with the sponsor News report · Jan. 2026
- March 23, 2026Permits The county development agency tells the City Council the project is not real News report · March 2026
- April 13, 2026Permits City Council votes 5-4 to pause work on a data center ordinance during debate over the proposal News report · April 2026
- June 15, 2026Permits Cumberland County adopts a six-month data center moratorium News report · July 2026
- July 6, 2026Site The sponsor withdraws its offer on the Kingsboro land, ending its related North Carolina project News report · July 2026
- Aug. 10, 2026Permits City Council sends its draft data center rules back to staff 7-3; a city moratorium fails 5-5 News report · Aug. 2026
The buildings
Specs
About 12 buildings
40,000 sq ft each, per the sponsor's announcement; never designed or filed
Who is involved
Owners, partners and builders
Sponsor
- Energy Storage Solutions LLC: sponsor, a battery storage company
- Dan Shaffer: president and spokesman
- North Carolina Renewable Energy LLC: related company, listed as parent by Global Energy Monitor
Site and utility
- David Allen: owner of the Dunn Road site, listed for sale with Colliers
- Fayetteville Public Works Commission: electric utility, no agreement
Officials
- Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation: said the project is not real
- Fayetteville City Council and Cumberland County Commissioners: moratorium and ordinance votes
Still unknown
Open questions
- Any filing or land agreement by the sponsor in Fayetteville.
- Whether the sponsor revives the site under another name.
Where this comes from
115 records from 20 documents
Drawn from news reports, public and commercial datasets, state agency records, company statements, local government records and utility regulator dockets, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.
News report 14Dataset 3State agency 2Company 1Local government 1Utility regulator 1
Evidence
Every quote behind this page
Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.
Power (25)
- Nearest power line of 345 kV or more: 8.82 kmMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest gas pipeline: 0.61 km (- Piedmont Natural Gas Pipeline, underground)Measured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest substation: 2.48 km - Railroad Street Substation (, operator Fayetteville Public Works)Measured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Developer: Energy Storage Solutions LLC“Energy Storage Solutions, LLC (ESS) a battery energy storage company (BESS) was founded by the original owners and key staff of North Carolina Renewable Energy, LLC (NCRE)”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- utility certificate (CPCN / facility registration): no docket filed“Documents filed with the Commission are public records and, unless marked as confidential, are made available to the public on the Commission's web site”Utility regulator · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Utility: Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC)“including Planning, Zoning, Airport, PWC Electric, Fire Marshal, Development Services, Public Services, IT, and FCEDC”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade B
- Jurisdiction: City of Fayetteville (land use); NC DEQ (air permits); NC Utilities Commission (utility certificates - none sought)“reserving discretionary review for higher-impact external proposals (such as facilities with an on-site Energy Center)”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade B
- Registry status: NEVER FILED - NO AGENCY RECORD; No NC DEQ Division of Air Quality application or permit exists for the proposed Fayetteville NetZero plant, and no DEQ record of any kind was found: per the queue lead the“Fayetteville NetZero Data Center power station is an announced power station in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- IT capacity: not stated“These include a data center proposed for Dunn Road that is 300 MW, and another data center proposed for Custer Avenue”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- On-site generation: 300 MW“Unit 1 - Status: Announced; Fuel: fossil gas (natural gas); Capacity: 300 MW; Technology: gas turbine”Dataset · Aug. 2026 · grade C
- The Fayetteville campus never advanced: the site was never under contract, nothing was filed or built, the city's economic development director told Council the marketed project 'is not real', and in April 2026 the Fayet“In April, the Fayetteville City Council voted to pause new data center construction in the area”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Fayetteville council-debate coverage attached a $6.4 billion, 50-acre proposal to Dunn Road - the same figures as ESS's filed Tarboro SUP application (52 acres, eight phases, 100 MW plus 250 MW BESS). No Fayetteville fil“This decision came during a debate over a proposed $6.4 billion data center on 50 acres along Dunn Rd”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Utility: none contracted - Fayetteville Public Works Commission is the municipal utility at the site; the city's economic development director stated ESS had not even an offer or contract on power, and no capacity existe“The company had started posting on websites that it was coming here, while not even having an offer or contract on the power.”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Interconnection status: None - no grid position ever existed: the Dunn Road site was never under contract, and Fayetteville's economic development director stated ESS had not even an offer or contract on power. Fayettevi“The company had started posting on websites that it was coming here, while not even having an offer or contract on the power.”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- ESS posted the Dunn Road / Fayetteville project on websites as if it were coming to Fayetteville while holding no contract on the land or the power; the site owner asked ESS through its broker to ensure the information w“The company had started posting on websites that it was coming here”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- FCEDC President/CEO Robert Van Geons told the City Council the ESS Dunn Road project is not real: the company had made no movement, had no offer or contract on the power, and there is no natural-gas capacity in that sect“So that project is not real”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Utility service: not stated“The company had started posting on websites that it was coming here, while not even having an offer or contract on the power”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Power plan: onsite - behind-the-meter natural gas self-generation (claimed; never built)“They were claiming they were going to generate all their power with natural gas”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 300 MW“Currently, there are talks of two data centers going up in Fayetteville. These include a data center proposed for Dunn Road that is 300 MW, and another data center proposed for Custer Avenue”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- County: Cumberland County“The largest site Cumberland County is currently capable of supporting is a hyperscaler, or a 300-500 MW facility”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 300 MW“These include a data center proposed for Dunn Road that is 300 MW, and another data center proposed for Custer Avenue”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- The Fayetteville proposal was a 'NetZero'-branded behind-the-meter design powered entirely by on-site gas turbines, per local coverage of the sponsor's proposal“its proposal tells a different story. The data center will be powered entirely with gas turbines”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Gas supplier: Piedmont Natural Gas (named in the sponsor plan; no agreement)“ESS states that it will rely on Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Duke Energy and Public Works Commission lines”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Organized resident opposition formed against the Fayetteville proposal (petition campaign; later Fayetteville Freedom For All and Party for Socialism and Liberation), citing gas turbines, water use, utility bills, and th“we must unite to oppose it for our health, finances and community”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Shaffer announced Fayetteville as the twin of the 900 MW Kingsboro campus: 24 phases over 3-5 years, about a dozen 40,000 sq ft buildings, more than 1,000 jobs per campus, $38B combined for the two campuses; investors an“A twin project is also planned for Fayetteville, N.C., Shaffer said”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
Money and contracts (11)
- Tenants: None identified; no tenant was ever announced“He declined to disclose the names of investors or vendors involved”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Tenant status: no tenant announced“He declined to disclose the names of investors or vendors involved”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Site acres: 50 acres“This decision came during a debate over a proposed $6.4 billion data center on 50 acres along Dunn Rd.”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Stated capital cost: not stated“This decision came during a debate over a proposed $6.4 billion data center on 50 acres along Dunn Rd”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Construction stage: cancelled - never advanced: the Dunn Road site was never under contract, nothing was ever filed or built, and by March 2026 the city's economic development director told the City Council the marketed“Energy Storage Solutions contacted our Raleigh Office and made inquiries about the site, but the property was never under contract with them.”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Tenant status: none - no tenant was ever announced, contracted or disclosed for the Fayetteville campus“He said: “I don’t have one that has gone so far as working with us right now to bring to you a project around those lines.””News report · March 2026 · grade C
- power supply / electric service agreement: finding - no power contract, offer, or ESA was ever in place“while not even having an offer or contract on the power”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- gas supply agreement: finding - no gas supply agreement; FCEDC stated the capacity does not exist on that section of the line“There is no capacity period in that section of the line to do that”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- incentives / development agreement: finding - no incentive agreement was ever sought or granted“if it doesn't ask for incentives, you don't have the ability through that vehicle to say we're not going to support you”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Land control: none - the Dunn Road site was never under contract to ESS“Energy Storage Solutions contacted our Raleigh Office and made inquiries about the site, but the property was never under contract with them”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- land purchase / option: finding - no land contract was ever executed; inquiries only“Energy Storage Solutions contacted our Raleigh Office and made inquiries about the site, but the property was never under contract with them”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
Permits and government (16)
- air quality permit: no application filed“The DEQ Environmental Application Tracker allows applicants and the public to check the status of pending environmental applications”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- The City of Fayetteville opened the TA26-01 UDO process: the city's first data-center definition, splitting the use into a standard principal facility and a principal facility with Energy Center (on-site generation beyon“Energy Center. A set of on-site power generation equipment and associated infrastructure designed to operate beyond emergency standby conditions”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade B
- Construction stage: none - nothing was ever filed, permitted, or built“which has targeted a spot of land in the area of Dunn Road, has, in fact, made no movement on such a project”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Fayetteville City Council: Public hearing on TA26-01 UDO data-center amendments; motion to reconsider a city moratorium“the Fayetteville City Council voted 7-3 on Aug. 10 to send proposed data center regulations back to staff for revisions”News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
- Moratoria: Cumberland County six-month moratorium on data center development permits (adopted Jun 15, 2026; unincorporated areas); City of Fayetteville enacted no moratorium“the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in June to approve a six-month pause to study their effects and draft new development rules”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- Fayetteville City Council: Council voted to gather research on data centers for four more months instead of enacting a legal moratorium“April 27: The City Council voted during a regular meeting to gather research on data centers for four more months, putting a pause on the development”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- Cumberland County Board of Commissioners: Public hearing on an ordinance implementing a moratorium on data centers“May 18: The Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on a data center moratorium, the first step before the board could vote on one”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- Cumberland County Board of Commissioners: Adoption of a six-month moratorium on data centers“June 15: The Board of Commissioners unanimously voted during a meeting to institute a six-month moratorium on data centers”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- ESS withdrew its Kingsboro land purchase by letter; Edgecombe County commissioners voted to return its deposit and the county manager declared that project officially off the board - the sponsor's exit from its NC data-c“Energy Storage Solutions has withdrawn its offer to buy the 28 acres for the project”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- development moratorium: adopted - six-month moratorium on data center development permits“June 15: The Board of Commissioners unanimously voted during a meeting to institute a six-month moratorium on data centers”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Project status: cancelled“In April, the Fayetteville City Council voted to pause new data center construction in the area”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Fayetteville City Council voted in April 2026 to pause new data center construction in the area amid organized resident opposition (including to the Dunn Road 'NetZero' gas-turbine design)“In April, the Fayetteville City Council voted to pause new data center construction in the area”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Fayetteville City Council: Data center ordinance work paused; staff directed to present temporary-moratorium options, during debate over the Dunn Road proposal“On Apr. 13, Fayetteville City Council board members voted narrowly (5-4) to pause work on a proposed data center ordinance”News report · April 2026 · grade C
- Fayetteville City Council: FCEDC update to council; member question on the rumored Energy Storage Solutions Dunn Road data center“In response to a question by City Council member Shaun McMillan, Van Geons sought to knock down rumors of one alleged project in particular”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Cumberland County Board of Commissioners: Special meeting and public comment period on data center policy and zoning“More than 25 speakers called for a moratorium on data centers at a March 23 public forum held by the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- land use: no application filed“which has targeted a spot of land in the area of Dunn Road, has, in fact, made no movement on such a project”News report · March 2026 · grade C
Legal (2)
- SEPARATE CAMPUS (guard - do not merge): ESS sued the Town of Tarboro in Edgecombe County Superior Court over the denial of SUP 25-02 for its Anaconda Road site (100 MW of data centers plus a 250 MW BESS, $6.4B, eight pha“Shaffer is also suing the Tarboro Town Council in Edgecombe County Superior Court over a monthslong battle to secure permits for a $6.4B project”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- First announced: Nov. 5, 2025“A twin project is also planned for Fayetteville, N.C., Shaffer said”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
Site and other (12)
- County code: 37051“An investor, Energy Storage Solutions, which has targeted a spot of land in the area of Dunn Road”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Stage: cancelled“So that project is not real”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Original target date: not stated“The buildout at both the Kingsboro development and Fayetteville sites will come in 24 phases over 3-5 years”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Current target date: none - project never advanced“So that project is not real”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Opposition: Organized resident opposition (petition campaigns; Fayetteville Freedom For All; Party for Socialism and Liberation)“the group had gathered more than 1,400 signatures in support of a moratorium on data centers”News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
- Aliases: Dunn Road project; Energy Storage Solutions Fayetteville Campus“An investor, Energy Storage Solutions, which has targeted a spot of land in the area of Dunn Road”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Site area: Dunn Road area, Fayetteville“David Allen, the owner of the site on Dunn Road reached out to me through his marketing team”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- City: Fayetteville“Currently, there are talks of two data centers going up in Fayetteville”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Name: Fayetteville NetZero Data Center Campus“ESS named its potential data center NetZero and touts it as a green energy project”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Jobs claimed: 1000 jobs“each campus will support more than 1,000 employees”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
- Phases claimed: 24 phases over 3-5 years“The buildout at both the Kingsboro development and Fayetteville sites will come in 24 phases over 3-5 years”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
- Buildings claimed: about a dozen 40,000-square-foot structures“The campuses will each have about a dozen 40,000-square-foot structures”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C