Trump administration picks SRS for new AI program. What will be built in SC?
Artificial intelligence may be powered on federal land in South Carolina, officials announced Thursday.
The Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for private development of AI data centers or energy infrastructure.
President Donald Trump has pushed for more domestic artificial intelligence development. This week, Trump signed a trio of executive orders aimed at spurring data center and AI development.
Building a data center on the Savannah River Site supports that initiative, according to a news release.
“By leveraging DOE land assets for the deployment of AI and energy infrastructure, we are taking a bold step to accelerate the next Manhattan Project — ensuring U.S. AI and energy leadership,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the release.
Artificial intelligence systems and other digital services are powered by data centers. These centers often require massive amounts of energy and water, creating challenges for the rapid development demanded by technology companies. A December report from the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that data centers’ energy consumption could rise to 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028. In 2023, data centers used about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity, the report found.
State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who has pushed for private investment to complete two VC Summer Nuclear Station reactors to power their data centers, celebrated the announcement on social media.
The Department of Energy also picked three other federal sites to develop AI infrastructure, including the Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation and Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. There were initially 16 sites under consideration for the project, according to an April request for information.
Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2025, and operations should kick off by 2027, according to the April RFI. It is unclear where on the 310-square mile reservation a data center may be built or what energy source would power the facility. The Department of Energy did not respond to an email requesting an interview by the time of publication.
If a data center is developed somewhere on the Savannah River Site, it will join 28 other facilities of various sizes in the state. Nearby in Aiken, Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, announced an $800 million investment in a data center last year.