South Carolina counties hit pause on AI data centers as residents revolt over rising power bills

A wave of county-level resistance is building in South Carolina as officials reconsider new AI data centers and residents raise concerns about what the facilities could mean for electric bills, pollution, and noise.

What's happening?

In Spartanburg County, council members unanimously moved forward with a one-year moratorium, and only days later, hundreds of residents attended a three-hour public meeting about a different $2.8 billion project already under construction, the South Carolina Daily Gazette reported.

With Spartanburg moving ahead, the list now includes Chesterfield and Newberry counties, which approved moratoriums earlier this month, and Greenwood County, which is pursuing its own 12-month pause. Colleton County has also taken an initial vote on a six-month moratorium tied to a proposed massive project in the Lowcountry.

Across the country, communities are increasingly pushing back on hyperscale facilities being built to power the AI boom. South Carolina legislators tried to set statewide guardrails during this session, but the proposals stalled before any final vote.

"I can understand counties wanting to be proactive," said Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort Republican who sponsored one of the failed bills.

Why does it matter?

For many residents, the central worry is power demand: Data centers consume huge amounts of electricity, and critics fear that burden could end up reflected in higher monthly utility bills. Their cooling equipment and backup systems can also add pressure to energy and water infrastructure.

AI is closely tied to the energy grid because training and running AI models depend on large server farms operating around the clock. The build-out comes with major concerns, including heavy energy and water use, higher household costs, and pollution from fossil-fueled backup generation.

In Spartanburg, the debate has shifted somewhat because the NorthMark Strategies project — through subsidiary Valara Holdings — plans to generate its own electricity rather than draw additional power from the grid. Even so, residents and advocates say that does not erase other harms.

Emily Wyche of the Southern Environmental Law Center said air pollution and generator noise dominated the discussion during the public hearing.

What's being done?

Moratoriums are the main tool local governments are using to create breathing room. In Spartanburg, the proposed pause would apply to applications that have not yet been finalized, county staff has been told to study where future data centers may be appropriate, and officials could choose to extend the moratorium beyond 12 months.

Davis' bill would have taken a statewide approach by setting rules for where data centers could be built and by addressing water use, power costs, and noise. It also called for a dedicated office within the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services to oversee permitting and identify suitable sites.

Meanwhile, the environmental review of Spartanburg's existing project is intensifying. The facility is currently permitted for 24 natural gas generators producing 2,000 kilowatts each. A revised application filed in March seeks five gas-fired combustion turbines rated at 17 megawatts each and six more rated at 54 megawatts, bringing the total request to 450 megawatts from about 50 megawatts initially approved.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has also asked the Public Service Commission to pause construction until regulators can review the full project. A hearing on that request is scheduled for July 13 in Columbia.

"It really is frustrating to me that we didn't get a bill passed," Davis said. "I understand counties, absent the state implementing these baseline protections, simply taking the approach that they don't want data centers built until we have safeguards in place."

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