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Economic leaders update: Natron inducement delay, DOE loan remains in process; officials urge regional power planning
Summary
Economic development leaders said the Natron battery manufacturing project remains under exclusivity and the county retained escrow instead of signing an inducement agreement. Presenters urged a 10‑year regional power strategy as large projects — including Natron and data centers — will require substantial electrical capacity.
A representative of the regional economic development partnership briefed the meeting on several major site and project updates, including the Natron battery manufacturing prospect, intermodal/warehousing plans and power planning needs.
On the battery project, the speaker said the company’s expected Department of Energy (DOE) loan is a loan rather than a grant and was described in the presentation as carrying an interest rate "roughly 6%." The representative said the county and the company have an exclusivity arrangement that the county extended rather than signing an inducement agreement; signing the inducement, the presenter said, would have required the county to forfeit escrow funds (the presenter stated an escrow forfeiture figure during the discussion). The partnership representative described the company as a strong corporate partner continuing due diligence and seeking federal loan support.
The presentation also highlighted several site developments: North Carolina Railroad’s purchase of about 43 acres adjacent to the intermodal facility (described as the Carolina Connector area) with initial warehousing plans of about 1,500,000 square feet and potential expansion up to 6,000,000 square feet over 3–5 years; residential development interest in Kingsborough; and other site options east of Rocky Mount that the partnership is evaluating.
Speakers repeatedly flagged regional power capacity as a key constraint. The representative said Natron’s projected demand could be about 64 megawatts and observed that the entire county’s current usage is on the order of 80 megawatts; other large prospects cited consumption estimates in the 40–80 megawatt range for expansion scenarios. "Who has power has projects," the presenter said, arguing that the region should prepare a 10‑year power availability plan that considers Duke Energy, Dominion and local solar generation, reuse water availability, fiber and transmission assets.
Panelists and council members asked whether the city and region are planning cost‑of‑service and rate studies and whether residential rates could be managed as industrial load grows. City staff said a cost‑of‑service study and rate‑structure work were underway and would be discussed at upcoming budget talks.
The partnership representative said the Natron project estimate had increased since announcement — from an early figure of about $1.4 billion to about $1.8 billion — and reiterated that alternative financing sources exist should DOE support not materialize.
No formal agreements were reported as executed at the meeting; presenters said many items remain in due diligence or require county/city action before inducements, infrastructure upgrades or construction proceed.
