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Energy United wins rezoning and annexation for 48-acre Lake Norman operations center in Mooresville
Summary
The Mooresville Board approved a conditional rezoning and voluntary annexation for Energy United to build a 48-acre regional operations center at 175 Owens Farm Road, reserving land for the east-west connector and requiring traffic and stream-buffer mitigations; the vote was unanimous.
The Mooresville Board of Commissioners on May 4 approved a conditional hybrid light-industrial rezoning (CZ-2026-07) and a voluntary annexation (AX-2026-01) for a 48-acre site at 175 Owens Farm Road, clearing the way for Energy United to construct a Lake Norman regional operations center.
Planner Patrick Warner told the board the site would be annexed into Ward 1 and could be served by town utilities; the proposal includes a new public right-of-way and land reserved for the planned east-west connector. Warner said the rezoning includes conditions on stream buffers and limits on certain uses; a traffic-impact analysis (TIA) was required because the project adds a fourth leg to the signalized Shears/Rocky River intersection, and the town27s transportation engineer has delayed final TIA approval until the site-plan stage.
Energy United vice president of energy delivery Steven McCathan said the facility would replace an older Lake Norman operations center and serve roughly 45,000 members in the region. "We intend to construct a new Lake Norman regional operations center which will replace the existing Lake Norman operations center," McCathan said, adding the site will house offices, operations, warehousing, fleet maintenance and outside equipment storage and that roughly 35 employees would report to the location daily.
Public commenters included local residents and Energy United customers who noted the cooperative27s community contributions. Richard Beck, who said he has worked with Energy United foundations, told the board the cooperative would be a "good corporate neighbor." Another resident who identified himself as a nearby customer said light industrial development would have less traffic impact than a similar-size residential subdivision.
The board27s approval sets out required mitigations and notes that the TIA must be completed before site-plan approval. The rezoning motion described the proposal as supporting infrastructure priorities in the town's comprehensive plan and as appropriate for priority utility growth tiers. The annexation ordinance authorizes utility extensions to serve the project.
The board voted to approve CZ-2026-07 and AX-2026-01 after the public hearing; both motions carried with the board voting in favor.
What happens next: Energy United must complete the required TIA and satisfy the ordinance27s conditions in the site-plan review process before building permits are issued.
