Roy Cooper, running for the U.S. Senate, is now criticizing the very data center growth he once helped foster as governor, arguing these facilities drive up utility bills and should shoulder more of their energy costs; this piece tracks his past support, the tax breaks and grants that accelerated data center construction in North Carolina, and the political lines being drawn over who pays for power as the state heads into the general election.
As governor, Cooper welcomed major tech investment and applauded big projects that promised jobs and economic growth, even as state law already offered generous tax breaks for data center development. Those incentives, including a qualifying investment threshold, played a clear role in attracting companies that put down roots and started major construction projects across the state. The payoff pitched to voters was straightforward: new facilities, more construction, and the promise of high-paying tech and engineering jobs in places that needed them. For many communities, that felt like a welcome change after years of chasing outside investment.
Today, Cooper’s Senate campaign is positioning him as a defender of households hit by rising utility bills and insisting data centers should not shift their costs onto consumers. “We need to make sure data centers pay for their own power and we need to encourage them to build their own energy sources because right now that’s causing rates to go up for consumers and we can’t have that,” Cooper said in an interview with local media. That line is a sharp pivot from the enthusiastic tone his administration used when courting major projects here.
One of the most visible examples from Cooper’s time in office was the deal with Apple, which secured an unusually large state incentive in addition to the standard tax exemptions. The state approved a major Job Development Investment Grant to help Apple expand its data center footprint, a package that included long-term financial commitments and support for rural infrastructure. At the announcement, Cooper framed the project as a win for the state’s economy and workforce, celebrating the scale of the investment and the jobs it promised to create.
“Innovation has long been North Carolina’s calling card and Apple’s decision to build this new campus in the Research Triangle showcases the importance of our state’s favorable business climate, world-class universities, our tech-ready workforce, and the welcoming and diverse communities that make so many people want to call North Carolina home,” Cooper said. “This announcement will benefit communities across our state, and we are proud to work together to continue to grow our economy and bring transformational industries and good-paying jobs to North Carolina.”
Other companies followed, and the state recorded dozens of projects that qualified for tax exemptions between the mid-2010s and the present. Names like Meta, Microsoft, Google and smaller regional firms all announced expansions or new builds, some receiving supplementary incentives beyond the baseline exemptions. Officials pointed to partnerships with utilities and local development funds as part of the package that moved projects from idea to shovel-ready reality. Supporters argued these deals modernized the economy and brought technical career paths to areas that needed them.
Critics, especially now from the Republican side, see a pattern: generous subsidies and special treatment for multinational tech firms followed by rate pressures on ordinary ratepayers. State leaders and utility officials have debated how much of the grid strain is tied to new data center demand and what customers should be expected to absorb. “Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike is simply too high and comes as the company is also retreating on more affordable clean energy. At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, we should be doing everything we can to make life more affordable, not less,” Stein said at a press conference earlier this year. “I will continue to fight on behalf of every North Carolinian to lower costs and grow the economy.”
Cooper has leaned into that same consumer-protection frame during the campaign while stopping short of an outright ban on new facilities. “As Governor and Attorney General, I put aside party politics to fight utility cost increases for North Carolinians. I vetoed a Senate bill that prioritized higher profits for utility companies over more cost-effective energy solutions. And I battled Duke Energy in court to get their profit margin lowered,” Cooper said in a press release last month. He adds that data center operators should internalize the cost of the power they consume rather than stacking it onto households and small businesses.
“The companies that build these data centers must pull their own weight, pay for the power they use and completely remove this burden from North Carolina families and small businesses. We must encourage companies that build data centers to also build their own power sources, which will help reduce utility costs for consumers,” Cooper added. The campaign has also said, “‘Roy believes local communities must have the final say on new projects coming to their area which includes local moratoriums, and data centers must pay for all of the energy they use without passing on any of their costs to consumers. Longtime utility company lobbyist Michael Whatley believes people’s concerns about data centers are fake as he continues to shill for his billionaire buddies in the utility industry instead of standing up against rate hikes that are crushing hardworking families,'” a spokesperson for the campaign said.
With the primary behind him, Cooper now faces the general election and the task of convincing voters he can square past support for big tech investment with a promise to shield families from higher bills. The tension between attracting industry and protecting ratepayers is the story that will follow him into November, and voters will be watching whether his proposed fixes match the scale of the policy choices made when those data centers were first welcomed.
