What’s all the talk about data centers & AI in SC? 5 things to know

From the president warning of energy price hikes, residents signing petitions in protest and state lawmakers trying to cut off tax breaks in the Upstate, data centers have been on the minds of many South Carolinians in recent days. Here are five storylines to catch you up.

Where can large data centers go? Regulations proposed

Looking to mitigate the negative impacts associated with data centers, state Senators have debated two sets of large regulations on the warehouses powering AI and digital services. The bills would give the state more oversight over where data centers are located, how much water and energy they use and noise pollution.

“I think we’ve got to get something passed before we adjourn, the second Thursday in May, because otherwise, data centers are going to be coming into the state without these guardrails and without these best practices that these bills require,” Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort said Monday. Davis is the sponsor of one of the bills, and state Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Horry, is the other.

Should there be a moratorium on building new data centers?

Another proposal in the General Assembly would ban South Carolina and local governments from permitting or approving new data centers until January 1, 2028.

The temporary moratorium would give time for the legislature to regulate the growing industry, sponsor state Rep. Steven Long, R-Spartanburg, wrote in a news release. Long said he filed the bill Wednesday.

About 20 other lawmakers signed up to support the bill, according to a picture of the legislation sent by Long.

SC lawmakers join push back on data centers in backyard

This week, the General Assembly’s Spartanburg delegation has pushed back on data center development at home and in the statehouse.

The debate comes as the Spartanburg County Council weighs giving a large data center a fee-in-lieu tax credit. State Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, also turned a perfunctory vote on new tax credits for development of abandoned buildings into a debate on benefits for data centers Wednesday afternoon.

“I don’t know if you have any of these data centers in your district yet, but I’m telling you, you let them put one in, if they don’t have one, and the public gets engaged, you’ll find out they want some kind of action,” Bright said while arguing for his failed amendment, which excluded data centers from the tax credit.

Bipartisan lawmakers from Colleton County also opposed a proposed data center campus near Walterboro and the ACE Basin in a resolution earlier this month, according to local news stations.

Trump pushes data center agreement in State of the Union

Big Tech companies should pay for and build their own power plants, President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening. He said data centers, which often require large amounts of power, would need to produce and pay for their own energy, under an agreement negotiated by the administration.

“So I’m telling them they can build their own plant,” Trump said. “They’re going to produce their own electricity. It will ensure the company’s ability to get electricity while at the same time, lowering prices of electricity for you and could be very substantial for all of your cities and towns.”

It’s unclear how such an agreement would work in South Carolina, where state-regulated utilities generate new electricity.

PSC elections include candidate from data center sector

Next week, lawmakers will elect several members to the state’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission. The Public Service Commission gives approval to energy and other utility projects needed by data centers.

Rankin’s proposed regulation would also give the PSC power to oversee and permit data centers.

One challenger, Eugene Hennelly, co-founded an energy and cooling solutions company that serves data centers, according to his screening documents. He is running against incumbent Carolyn Williams in the first district.

Diverse views can be beneficial for the PSC, Davis told the Post and Courier, who first reported Hennelly’s business venture.

The story was updated to correct Hennelly’s role in the energy company, Orion Digital Infrastructure.

This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 1:04 PM.