South Carolina is emerging as a major destination for data center development, with AI, cloud computing, and high-performance computing driving new investment across the state. Blackridge Research tracks 15 upcoming data center projects in South Carolina, representing approximately 2.7 GW of planned capacity and USD 26 billion in construction expenditure. The pipeline includes projects at planning, announced, and under-construction stages.
Major developments include the Savannah River Site AI Data Center, Cielo Digital Infrastructure's Gaffney Campus, QTS York County Data Center, Google Project Evergreen Data Center, and Meta's Aiken Data Center Campus. These projects span AI infrastructure, hyperscale data centers, cloud services, and high-performance computing, with development activity extending from the Charleston region and Aiken County to South Carolina's Upstate.
This article examines the top 5 upcoming data center projects in South Carolina, comparing their capacity, location, developer, investment, development stage, and expected timelines.
List of Top 5 Upcoming Data Center Projects in South Carolina, USA
Savannah River Site AI Data Center and Energy Generation Project
Amentum and DC Blox have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to develop a large-scale artificial intelligence data center and dedicated energy generation campus at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The proposed project would establish a 1 GW AI data center supported by approximately 2 GW of on-site power generation.
The project is planned as a behind-the-meter development on federal land in Aiken County. Initial power generation is expected to rely on natural gas, with the long-term plan calling for a transition toward advanced nuclear energy. Once developed, the campus would become one of the largest integrated AI data center and energy infrastructure projects in South Carolina.
Cielo Digital Infrastructure Gaffney Campus
The Cielo Digital Infrastructure Gaffney Campus is a planned hyperscale data center development in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina. Cielo Digital Infrastructure is developing the approximately USD 2.1 billion campus at 000 Ford Road, near the North Carolina border.
The project is planned to include four data center buildings totaling approximately 1.6 million square feet, supported by a dedicated electrical substation. At full build-out, the campus could support up to 300 MW of power capacity, with initial operations targeted for the end of 2028.
QTS York County Data Center
The QTS York County Data Center, initially known as Project Cobra, is a large-scale data center campus under active construction in Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina. QTS is developing the campus as its first South Carolina facility, with the planned investment increasing from an initial USD 1 billion to approximately USD 8 billion.
The project will include nine data center buildings across three phases, with the first phase covering approximately 109 acres. The full campus is being developed across a site of nearly 800 acres.
Google Project Evergreen Data Center
Project Evergreen is a Google data center campus planned at the Winding Woods Commerce Park in St. George, Dorchester County, South Carolina. The campus occupies approximately 206 acres at 4818-4928 US-78 and is being developed as part of Google's broader expansion of its South Carolina cloud and data center infrastructure.
Google acquired the site through Gannett Enterprises LLC, one of the entities associated with the project. The St. George campus is one of two new Google data center developments announced in Dorchester County in 2024.
Meta Aiken Data Center Campus
The Meta Aiken Data Center Campus is a multi-building data center development in Sage Mill Industrial Park in Aiken County, South Carolina. Meta announced the project in August 2024 as its first data center in South Carolina, backed by an USD 800 million investment.
The campus spans more than 300 acres and includes approximately 715,000 to 750,000 square feet of data center infrastructure across multiple buildings. The facilities are being optimized for Meta's artificial intelligence workloads, with operations targeted for spring 2027.
South Carolina Data Center Market Overview
South Carolina has an active data center development pipeline, with 15 upcoming projects tracked by Blackridge Research. These projects represent 2.7 GW of combined capacity and USD 26 billion in construction expenditure, with investments ranging from USD 50 million to USD 11 billion and an average investment of approximately USD 1.7 billion per project. The pipeline covers hyperscale campuses, colocation facilities, and enterprise deployments across several regions of the state.
South Carolina Data Center Development Pipeline
Most of South Carolina's upcoming capacity remains in the planning stage. Nine projects are in planning, representing 2.3 GW of capacity and USD 22.1 billion in capital expenditure. Another five projects are under construction, accounting for 400 MW and USD 3.8 billion, while one announced project represents 10 MW and USD 50 million. This development pipeline includes both large hyperscale facilities and newer projects designed for AI and high-performance computing workloads.
The state's development activity has expanded beyond its established data center base. Google's Berkeley County campus has operated since 2007, while the company is developing additional campuses in Ridgeville and St. George. More recent projects include Meta and Oppidan facilities in Aiken County, NorthMark Strategies/Valara's high-performance computing facility in Spartanburg County, Cielo Digital Infrastructure's proposed Cherokee County campus, and the proposed ACE Basin Data Center in Colleton County.
Google Data Centers in South Carolina
Google has maintained a data center presence in South Carolina since 2007, when it established its Berkeley County campus at Mount Holly Commerce Park near Moncks Corner. In September 2024, Google announced a USD 3.3 billion investment in South Carolina, including USD 1.3 billion to expand its Berkeley County campus and USD2 billion for new campuses in Ridgeville and St. George in Dorchester County.
AI Data Centers in South Carolina
South Carolina's newer data center pipeline increasingly includes projects designed for AI, high-performance computing, and high-density workloads NorthMark Strategies/Valara's High Performance Compute Center in Spartanburg County is designed around high-performance computing and has pursued up to 457 MW of on-site natural gas generation.
Cielo Digital Infrastructure's Cherokee County campus is planned at approximately 300 MW across four buildings and is being developed as a large hyperscale-ready facility.
Meta's Aiken County data center is described by the company as being optimized for AI workloads, adding another major AI-oriented development to the state. At the Savannah River Site in Aiken County, a proposed federal AI data center could reach approximately 1 GW, supported by roughly 2 GW of dedicated power generation.
The proposed ACE Basin Data Center in Colleton County is also being positioned for large-scale AI and high-performance computing workloads.
Major Data Center Locations in South Carolina
South Carolina's data center development is distributed across several regional markets rather than being concentrated in one city. The largest established cluster is in Berkeley and Dorchester counties, while Aiken County and the Upstate are attracting a growing share of new AI and hyperscale development.
Data Centers in Ridgeville, St. George, and the Charleston Region
Ridgeville and St. George are now two of the state's most important upcoming data center locations because of Google's new Dorchester County campuses. The Ridgeville facility is located at Pine Hill Business Campus on approximately 230 acres, while the St. George facility is at Winding Woods Commerce Park on approximately 206 acres.
The broader Charleston-region market also includes Google's operational Berkeley County campus and DC BLOX's proposed Camp Hall development. DC BLOX's planned campus in Berkeley County is designed for hyperscale tenants and is expected to provide approximately 45 MW of capacity. The region also benefits from international fiber connectivity through the Myrtle Beach cable landing station, which connects to Google's and Meta's subsea cable infrastructure.
Data Centers in Aiken, Spartanburg, and Cherokee Counties
Aiken County has become an important emerging data center market. Meta and Oppidan are developing facilities in the Graniteville/Vaucluse area, while the Savannah River Site is being considered for a federal AI data center and associated power infrastructure.
In the Upstate, Spartanburg County is home to NorthMark Strategies/Valara's High Performance Compute Center, while Cherokee County is the proposed location for Cielo Digital Infrastructure's 300 MW campus. These projects add substantial AI and high-density computing capacity to the state's pipeline and expand data center development beyond the Charleston region.
Conclusion
South Carolina's data center pipeline is expanding rapidly as AI, cloud computing, and high-performance workloads increase demand for large-scale digital infrastructure. Blackridge Research tracks 15 upcoming projects totaling 2.7 GW of capacity and USD 26 billion in construction expenditure, with major developments spread across Aiken, Cherokee, York, Dorchester, and other South Carolina markets.
The Savannah River Site AI Data Center, Cielo Digital Infrastructure Gaffney Campus, QTS York County Data Center, Google Project Evergreen Data Center, and Meta Aiken Data Center Campus represent different approaches to meeting this demand, from dedicated AI infrastructure and hyperscale facilities to large cloud-focused campuses. Their development stages also vary, from planning and proposed projects to facilities already progressing toward construction.
As these projects advance, power availability, land, connectivity, cooling infrastructure, water resources, and permitting will remain important factors influencing their timelines and scale. The continued movement of projects through the development pipeline will determine how South Carolina's data center market evolves and how much of its planned 2.7 GW capacity reaches operation.
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