New Hill Digital Campus
Apex, Wake County, NC
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
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Natelli Investments proposed the New Hill Digital Campus, a data center on 189 acres near Duke Energy's Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, and filed annexation, rezoning and land use amendment requests with the Town of Apex. In March 2026 the developer withdrew its annexation and rezoning applications, citing the town's ongoing deliberations over zoning changes, and said the project could be revisited if Apex approves zoning changes allowing data centers. The Apex Town Council then unanimously passed a 12-month moratorium on data centers.
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Planned capacity | 300 MW [2]Source excerpt“The developer of New Hill Digital Campus is withdrawing its annexation and rezoning applications for the property that was set to house the proposed 300 MW data center.” |
|---|---|
| Planned capacity | 250 MW [3] differing figure reported by WRAL Source excerpt“The proposed 250-megawatt facility was going to be called the 'New Hill Digital Campus.'” |
| Site size | 189 acres [1]Source excerpt“Natelli Investments LLC has filed a request to annex and rezone 189 acres in the Town of Apex for a new data storage facility.” |
| Buildings | 6 [3] 70-foot buildings Source excerpt“The project would have included six 70-foot buildings and about 80 3-megawatt generators on 189 acres of Shearon Harris Road, not far from Duke Energy's Harris Nuclear Plant.” |
How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.
Power
| Utility | Duke Energy [1] Utility pages: Duke Energy · data centers and bills Duke Energy transmission grid, per developer release Source excerpt“Duke Energy's transmission grid will serve the facility, according to the release, and it won't create a strain on the town's allocated power supply.” |
|---|---|
| Backup generators | about 80 3-megawatt generators [3]Source excerpt“The project would have included six 70-foot buildings and about 80 3-megawatt generators on 189 acres of Shearon Harris Road, not far from Duke Energy's Harris Nuclear Plant.” |
Water
| Water source | recirculating nonpotable water (developer-stated) [1]Source excerpt“Water used to cool the facility will come from recirculating nonpotable water” |
|---|
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Water and power
Water
Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.
Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →
Timeline
Issues raised
- The Protect Wake County Coalition raised concerns including noise, air pollution and energy and water use [2]
- An online petition against the proposal gathered nearly 2,000 signatures [1]
- Natelli said the project could be revisited if Apex approves zoning changes allowing data centers [2][5]
- After the withdrawal, Apex Mayor Pro Tem Terry Mahaffey said he would propose a one-year moratorium on data center applications, permits and construction [3][4]
Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.
Sources
- Developer Files Plans for "Digital Campus" in Western WakeINDY Week · Sep 2, 2025 · news
- Proposed data center in Wake County is withdrawing its applicationWUNC · Mar 5, 2026 · news
- Residents near proposed Apex data center relieved project is scrapped, says more work neededWRAL · Mar 5, 2026 · news
- Controversial New Hill Data Center Project Withdrawn, Ending Months of Debate in Apex (NC)Holly Springs Update · Mar 5, 2026 · news
- Apex Approves One-Year Moratorium on Data CentersINDY Week · Apr 15, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Sep 23, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). New Hill Digital Campus. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/new-hill-digital-campus-apex-nc |
|---|---|
| MLA | “New Hill Digital Campus.” Data Center Census, Sep 23, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/new-hill-digital-campus-apex-nc. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/new-hill-digital-campus-apex-nc |
Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.