Contractors began site preparation this week on Duke University's $23 million data center along Yearby Avenue, a project that will cost the university its carbon-neutral status.
The planned facility occupies 12 acres of Central Campus near Duke's electric substation and water chiller plant. It starts at 1.5 megawatts and could expand to 3 megawatts, adding 2-3% to Duke's peak energy load. Duke achieved carbon neutrality in 2024 and 2025 through offsets, including manure digesters at three Washington dairy farms and a landfill gas facility in Montana. Those offsets covered 65% of emissions. The data center ends that. Duke will no longer be carbon neutral after this year. "I'm wondering how we rationalize that, given our language that we're leaders," said Prasad Kasibhatla, an environmental chemistry professor at the Nicholas School of Environment.
Duke says its plan goes beyond a standard cooling rack. CIO Tracy Futhey said a heat recovery system will redirect warm water to campus heating rather than releasing it into the air. President Vincent Price said Duke is "not taking our foot off the accelerator in terms of decarbonization." Provost Alec Gallimore has proposed placing future computing nodes near renewable energy sources and buildings that can absorb the waste heat.
The site sits near Carolina Friends Early School, which serves children ages 3 to 6, and Ronald McDonald House. Head Karen Cumberbatch said the university has "not shared any proposed development plans" with neighbors. Durham is in extreme drought. Just over four months of accessible water remaining in easily reachable reserves, plus two months of emergency supply. Duke has not disclosed how much the facility will need for cooling.
A city-county building permit issued April 8 cleared the way. Construction started a month before Durham City Council and County Commissioners moved toward a two-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers. The facility is exempt under state law. Commissioners plan a vote this summer.