Written by Taylor Allred
Energy and Climate Program Director
Background
Data Centers seem to have come out of thin air. Initially, data centers operated unnoticed as either in-house server rooms or co-located server facilities. Before the A.I. boom, the Coastal Conservation League helped mitigate the overallocation of resources to data centers in the Low country 1. However, today, South Carolina is experiencing rapid data center growth under an insufficient regulatory framework, edging us toward a slippery slope of hosting a new wave of technology that threatens the future of the state’s natural resources and electrical infrastructure.
How to spot a data center
The new wave of tech industry investments in South Carolina is sending scouts to find available land, water, and electricity across the state. It is impossible to know where the next data center will settle in South Carolina; however, data centers follow infrastructure, not technical workers, which makes tracking and finding potential new data center locations possible – just follow the fiber lines, transmission lines, and gas pipelines.
Land before the lines
First, data centers must find available land, typically seeking properties spanning between several hundred to over 1,000 acres. Due to land scarcity in large metropolitan areas, data centers are more likely to target rural communities containing ample low-cost, flat land. Another bonus to rural communities are the quiet and low- traffic communities, as well as fewer logistical complications during the construction and operational phases of the data center. South Carolina has no shortage of low-cost flat land.
Follow the fiber
If you follow the fiber lines, you can see a clear trail of data centers. The DC BLOX Dark Fiber Route connects the Southeast to undersea cables crossing the Atlantic. From Atlanta to Myrtle Beach, the Dark Fiber Route enables industries seeking lightning-fast digital communication to set up shop. The DC Blox Myrtle Beach landing station can host up to five subsea cables. Currently, the station runs several submarine cables connecting to Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Fiber connectivity was once the leading indicator for future data center development 2. However, due to the influx of data centers seeking power sources, developers are thinking beyond the bounds of the utility interconnection queues and, instead, are forming power purchase agreements to plug directly into generation facilities or going behind the meter and chaining together sets of on-site small diesel generators to bypass the long lines.
Transmission lines
A less predictable but essential connection for data centers are transmission lines. In South Carolina, transmission lines range from 100 kV to 300 kV. However, possible voltage levels range from 115 kV to 765 kV. Moreover, high-voltage transmission lines can carry power over longer distances with minimal energy loss, which means data centers can secure power well outside of the utility territory it is located within. The higher the capacity of the transmission line, the farther it can carry energy, travel, and the better it can accommodate energy-dense loads. Hyperscale data centers (100 MW and above) can connect between 69 kV – 230 kVs.
Where there is gas there is generation.
South Carolina currently hosts more than 20 utility-scale gas plants4. Before the age of AI, data centers prioritized fiber connectivity over power availability. However, this has flipped as the massive rise of data centers stepping in line to connect to the grid, creating a massive bottleneck in load interconnection. This is just the start as we are witnessing a new wave of behind-the-meter, or “merchant gas plants”, that are popping up for the sole purpose of providing power to a data center. This poses an even bigger threat to our air and water as these plants may be subject to less regulatory oversight. The facilities also sometimes chain together smaller sets of generators that are less efficient and more-polluting pieces of equipment.
How do we stop this?
In 2026, several bills were introduced to regulate data center development. Unfortunately, no bill was passed, but we expect lawmakers to take up the issue again in 2027.
In the meantime, about a dozen counties have passed data center moratoria. Moratoria give leaders time to study the issue and establish rules to protect their constituents.
Speak out to your elected leaders and let them know that you are concerned about the impacts of data centers and want them to take action.
Review the Conservation League’s free online dashboard to see if we have learned about any data centers near you. And please let us know if you hear about data centers being considered in your community!