Is a data center operating or planned in your SC county? Here’s a map
Do you know about other local data center ordinances in South Carolina? Have any information about proposed data center developments? Send an email to lvaleski@thestate.com.
As some embrace and others reject new data center development in South Carolina, it can be difficult to know where the more than 20 warehouses used to power AI and other digital services are showing up in the state.
Some residents want to keep new data centers out of their communities, citing fears that the infrastructure could raise energy bills, use too much water or create noise pollution.
But others say they are essential to power modern digital services and can bring in additional local revenue, even when the projects receive tax breaks.
“Data centers are a foundational infrastructure for today’s digital economy,” said Will Williams, president of the Western South Carolina Economic Development Partnership. “There is nothing you or I do that a data center is not involved with.” Williams’ organization works with three data center developments, including Meta’s Aiken County proposal.
Figuring out where proposed and operating data centers are in South Carolina is tricky. The state Department of Commerce doesn’t track new data center development, according to testimony from Secretary Harry Lightsey earlier this year.
“The agency does not track or have a complete list of all data “hubs” or centers in the state,” Alex Clark, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce wrote in an email Thursday. The agency does keep track of data centers that request a sales tax exemption, but it doesn’t necessarily provide an accurate picture of how many actually set up shop in South Carolina.
However, several industry organizations track data center development in South Carolina, including Data Center Map and Cleanview. The State used the public data, in addition to interviews, news releases, county records and media reports, to compile a map of several planned and operational data centers in South Carolina.
Some proposals or data centers may not be included due to a lack of immediately available information.
Withdrawn projects, including a TigerDC data center in Spartanburg and others in Marion and Kershaw Counties, are not included in the map. Another large data center campus in Colleton County first made public late last year is also pending and not shown in the map. The project, slated for the ACE Basin, received pushback from lawmakers and the public this winter.
Major data center projects
While smaller data centers have been built in South Carolina for more than a decade, larger projects have been proposed in the last few years, often to power artificial intelligence.
For example, a DartPoints data center has operated south of downtown Columbia for many years. The data center uses less than one megawatt of electricity, according to the company. But a Meta data center under construction will likely use 200 megawatts of power, according to a regional economic development official. NorthMark is planning to build 450 megawatts of natural gas production to power its own pending data center in Spartanburg County.
Here are some of the larger projects planned for South Carolina:
Cielo Digital Infrastructure
- County: Cherokee County
- Announcement date: June 24, 2025
Cielo announced it would invest $2.1 billion for a data center campus near Gaffney. The project is estimated to be online by the end of 2028, according to a news release.
The campus will consist of four, 400,000-square-foot facilities. An announcement from Gov. Henry McMaster’s office said the project would create 30 jobs.
A website linked on the company’s LinkedIn is no longer active. The website previously said the data center campus would use “up to 300 megawatts,” according to a digital archives search.
The status of the project is unclear.
Meta
- County: Aiken County
- Announcement date: Aug. 29, 2024
The company behind social media platforms Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp is building a 715,000-square-foot data center in an industrial park in Aiken County.
It will use 200 megawatts of power. The data center, intended for Meta’s artificial intelligence workloads, will create an estimated 100 operational jobs, according to a news release from McMaster’s office.
It’s expected to be operational in spring 2027.
- Counties: Dorchester and Berkeley counties
- Announcement date: Sept. 26, 2024
Google is spending $1.3 billion to expand its Berkeley County data center, according to a news release.
The company is also building two new data centers in business parks in Dorchester County intended to power cloud services and artificial intelligence.
NorthMark
- County: Spartanburg County
- Announcement date: April 22, 2025
NorthMark Strategies, a capital firm, is building a large data center campus in Spartanburg County. The project will consist of a data center and natural gas generators and turbines created 450 megawatts of power for the site.
The $2.8 billion development project is being built through 2028, according to news releases. The project will create 150 permanent on-site jobs, according to a May 2026 news release from NorthMark. But an April 2025 announcement from Gov. Henry McMaster said the development would create “at least 27 new jobs.”
QTS
- County: York County
- Announcement date: Sept. 19, 2023
QTS is constructing a nine-building data center campus near Rock Hill across several phases, according to a company presentation
The project received a $200,000 economic development incentive from the state. It does not disclose how much energy the data center requires on its website.
Local governments step in
Absent any federal or state policies to govern data center development, several South Carolina counties want to pump the brakes on development.
At least nine counties have proposed or passed temporary data center moratoriums, according to an analysis of media reports, council agendas and ordinances.
The moratoriums are often put in place to give counties time to weigh their own regulations and siting requirements for data centers.
“Chester County is committed to making informed decisions that balance economic opportunity with responsible growth,” said Pete Wilson, Chester County council chair, in a June news release. “This pause gives us the opportunity to learn from experts, hear from residents and continue to develop policies that serve the best interests of our community.“
A few others have proposed or discussed regulations for new data centers, including where they can be located. Some counties just changed how data centers are zoned, which is not included in the map. Other regulations, including in Oconee and Horry counties, are in very early stages or have stalled, according to media reports and meeting minutes.
There aren’t any statewide rules or requirements for data centers in South Carolina, despite two years of effort from the General Assembly. Two Senate plans to regulate where data centers can locate didn’t pass out of the upper chamber this year. A moratorium proposed by several House representatives never moved.
The maps will be updated as more information about data centers and ordinances is made public.