Data centers have gained considerable attention in Upstate South Carolina and across the United States.
The growing number of these facilities throughout the country supports the modern digital age, specifically the rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Despite this growth, many questions remain about how many data centers are in operation or planned.
South Carolina has become an increasingly attractive location for data centers due to land availability, low regulatory barriers and economic incentives. However, public opposition to the development of these facilities has grown in recent years.
Upstate Business Journal took a closer look at data centers to provide more information on what they are, where we think they are located and what local governments are doing about them.
What are data centers?
Data centers are facilities that house and operate computer systems, storage devices and network equipment. These facilities are used for the storage, management and processing of significant amounts of data.
Types of data centers
There are three main types of data centers:
- Enterprise Data Centers: Private data centers owned and operated by a business or organization.
- Colocation and Service Provider Data Centers: Shared data centers offering leasable space for multiple businesses and organizations.
- Hyperscale Data Centers: Massive data centers operated by major technology companies for large-scale data processing, storage and computing.
Source: Pew Research Center and International Energy Agency’s Energy and AI
Statewide tracking
The South Carolina Department of Commerce does not track how many data centers are in the state. Instead, the agency monitors the number of facilities that apply for a sales tax exemption.
This tracking method does not provide an accurate list of data centers in South Carolina. Alex Clark, the agency’s deputy director of communications, said not all data centers pursue this certification, and not all certified data centers begin operations in South Carolina.
According to SC Commerce, the agency has received one sales tax exemption application since the beginning of 2026 and four applications in the past three years.
Estimated data centers in SC
The total number of data centers in South Carolina and where they are located remains unclear. Data Center Map, an industry database, estimates there are 48 data centers across 12 markets in South Carolina. Markets in the Upstate with data centers include Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Seneca and Gaffney.
National and regional breakdown
More than 3,000 data centers are estimated to be in operation in the United States, with more than 1,500 new data centers under development.
- South: 1,209 existing and 754 planned data centers
- Midwest: 655 existing and 419 planned data centers
- West: 807 existing and 277 planned data centers
- Northeast: 397 existing and 106 planned data centers
Source: Pew Research Center
Environmental concerns
Common environmental concerns regarding data center development include:
- Water and energy consumption
- Noise disruption
- Air pollution
- Large land use
Source: Southern Environmental Law Center
Energy consumption
Powering and cooling the computer systems and equipment within data centers require vast amounts of electricity and water. According to the International Energy Agency, a 100-megawatt data center consumes:
- As much electricity annually as 100,000 households.
- As much water per day as around 6,500 households (an average of 2 million liters)
Source: International Energy Agency’s Energy and AI
Fast fact
The United States made up the largest share – 45% – of global data center electricity consumption in 2024. Data center energy consumption grew by approximately 12% between 2015 and 2024.
Source: International Energy Agency’s Energy and AI
Notable local projects
Valara Holdings High Performance Compute Center
NorthMark Strategies, through its subsidiary Valara Holdings, is constructing a high-performance computing data center southeast of Spartanburg. The $2.8 billion project, announced in April 2025, redevelops the former Kohler manufacturing plant at 4000 S. Pine St. Spartanburg County Council approved economic incentives for the project in 2025.
The new data center campus will feature an on-site power plant with 24 permitted natural gas generators and 11 proposed natural gas-fired turbines. An application was submitted in March to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services for a second synthetic minor air construction permit for the additional turbines. If approved, the data center would have a power generation capacity of more than 450 megawatts.
DartPoints Greenville Data Center
DartPoints announced plans to invest $125 million into its existing data center in Greenville in November 2025. The enterprise-class data center is located at 78 Global Drive in Greenville’s Global Business Park near the intersection of Interstate 85 and Laurens Road.
The expansion adds 88,000 square feet to the Greenville data center and creates 10 new high-tech jobs. The facility’s total capacity will be increased from 2.5 megawatts to 12.5 megawatts to support artificial intelligence, enterprise and edge applications.
Data center moratorium
Multiple government entities in Upstate South Carolina are considering or have approved a moratorium on approving new data center applications.
- Spartanburg County: Spartanburg County Council has approved the first and second readings of a one-year data center moratorium. The third and final reading of the moratorium was expected to be held during County Council’s meeting on Sept. 21.
- Anderson County: Anderson County Council gave final approval to a six-month moratorium on data center applications in August.
- Greenwood County: Greenwood County Council approved the third and final reading of a one-year moratorium on data center applications in July.
- South Carolina: House Bills 5526 and 5286 were introduced in early 2026 to implement a statewide moratorium on new data center applications or permits. Neither bill made it out of the state House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee in the last legislative session.
Research partnerships
Sustain SC has partnered with the Public Policy Institute at Charleston School of Law to evaluate how communities in South Carolina should prepare for continued growth of data center development. The partnership was announced in early September.
“This partnership brings rigorous legal and policy research to a question our members are asking right now — how South Carolina prepares for the energy, water and land demands that come with new industrial investment, while protecting our environment and natural resources,” said Sustain SC CEO Leslie Skardon in a statement.
A team of Public Policy Institute student research fellows will work with Sustain SC this fall to analyze how governments regulate and site data centers. The research aims to identify best practices and policy models for local governments, nonprofits and stakeholders across South Carolina. The findings from the project will be presented at Sustain SC’s legislative briefing in January 2027 at the State House.
