Data Centers in Triangle

Triangle – Strategic High-Performance Compute Hub

Executive Summary

This market serves organizations requiring a balance between high-density computing and immediate proximity to a premier research corridor. Companies choose this location to secure reliable operational footprints while accessing the massive East Coast talent pool for faster innovation and localized research outcomes.

Triangle: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

The Triangle functions as a critical junction for fiber traffic moving between the Northeast and the Southeast. This ensures resilience and path diversity for enterprise workloads.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 7 (as of September 2025). The market features a range of 7–10 providers, ensuring competitive pricing for local loop and long-haul transport.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions (as of September 2025). Organizations typically use private network interfaces or dedicated waves to reach the massive cloud clusters in Northern Virginia.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Most peering occurs privately or via remote connection to the national exchanges located in the Ashburn area.

Bare Metal: General availability is supported by major providers such as phoenixNAP and Hivelocity (as of September 2025).

Power Analysis

Energy in this region is defined by a diverse generation mix that provides high uptime for the local grid.

Average Cost Of Power: $0.07–$0.09/kWh (as of September 2025). These prices provide a cost advantage over Northern markets, allowing for more predictable scaling of power-hungry AI workloads.

Power Grid Reliability: The local infrastructure is well-engineered, utilizing a generation mix of 33% nuclear and 42% natural gas. This redundancy across different fuel types protects against single-source supply shocks.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

The Triangle is a magnet for high-tech industry, driven by the concentration of research universities and specialized corporate campuses.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are located near Research Triangle Park (RTP), providing low-latency connectivity for the biotech, ag-tech, and education sectors.

Regional Market Reach: This location serves as a primary hub for the Carolinas, reaching growing population centers in Raleigh, Durham, and Charlotte with minimal latency.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: North Carolina provides significant financial relief through sales and use tax exemptions on electricity and data center support equipment. These incentives directly reduce the total cost of ownership for organizations scaling their infrastructure in the region.

Natural Disaster Risk

The Triangle maintains a Low risk profile with a FEMA NRI Score of 14.7 (as of September 2025). This makes it a strong alternative to coastal regions that face higher environmental threats.

• Hurricanes: While inland, the area can experience wind and rain from coastal storms (as of September 2025).
• Ice Storms: Winter weather can occasionally impact local utility lines, though data center corridors use reinforced infrastructure (as of September 2025).
• Tornadoes: The region has a moderate history of storm activity, which is managed through stringent building codes (as of September 2025).
• Lightning and Hail: These are frequent but manageable risks for purpose-built facilities in the region (as of September 2025).
• Wildfires: This is a minor risk managed through local mitigation and site clearing (as of September 2025).