Compass Durham (Research Triangle Park) data center, Durham, North Carolina

Compass Datacenters' first data center is a 22,000-square-foot building inside Research Triangle Park in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, completed in 2013 and leased by Windstream Hosted Solutions. Compass built it in six months, with 10,000 square feet of expandable raised floor, 2,500 kVA of utility capacity and 300 tons of cooling power, according to the company.

Durham County has since tightened its rules for projects like this one: on August 24, 2026 the Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 for a nine-month moratorium on new data center construction, exempting buildings under 100,000 square feet that use closed-loop cooling and non-diesel backup power. The county counts 14 confirmed data centers, most in Research Triangle Park, and only three are larger than 100,000 square feet; Commissioner Nida Allam voted no and won an amendment requiring builders to disclose their water use, fuel consumption and fuel source.

"We do not want to be Loudon County, but that doesn't mean that every data center presents the same risk", said Ramsay Ritchie of the Durham Chamber of Commerce, which backed the exemptions. Resident Pablo Friedmann said the growth of data centers is "burdening the residential ratepayer".

The county's nine-month pause is due to run to about May 2027, while the Board of County Commissioners and the joint city-county planning department write permanent data center rules.