South Carolina Data Center Moratorium Tracker
South Carolina has 3 data-center bills pending in the legislature. 22 city and county measures are tracked here, 17 of them in force. Every entry below links to its primary source: a legislature page, a governor's office, a local government, or the reporting of record.
South Carolina
SC
Proposed
4
State-level measures on record
22
City and county measures, 17 in force
24
Primary sources cited on this page
#25
of 50 states with anything on record, by measure count
State-level measures in South Carolina
Every statewide moratorium, pause, siting restriction, or tax-incentive rollback in South Carolina we can verify against a primary source. Strongest status first.
| Measure | Status | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 902Data center siting permits through the PSC | Proposed 2026 | A companion approach to S 867 that would task the Public Service Commission with overseeing data center permitting statewide. It carries weaker ratepayer provisions than S 867 and omits the brownfield site provisions. | |
| HJR 5526Data Center Moratorium (joint resolution) | Proposed 2026-04 | Would prohibit governmental entities from acting on data center permits and applications until the General Assembly establishes an oversight and approval process; introduced Apr 14, did not advance. | |
| S 867Data Center Development Act | Proposed 2026-04 | Would create a Data Center Development Office within the Department of Environmental Services and require a state-issued siting permit before any new data center could begin operations. The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee gave it a favorable report on April 28, 2026, sending it to the full Senate. | |
| H 5286Data Center Moratorium | Failed / vetoed 2026-02 | Would bar state and local approval of permits, rezoning, and incentives for new data centers until Jan 1 2028; referred to Ways and Means, but SC closed the session without enacting data-center bills. |
City and county moratoria in South Carolina
Most of the movement is local, where a building pause or permit halt does not need a legislative session. 22 tracked measures in South Carolina, each with its source.
Anderson County
2026-08
Six-month data center moratorium
County Council passed the third and final reading of a six-month data center moratorium on Aug. 20, 2026.
Chester County
2026-07
Six-month data center moratorium
County Council unanimously approved a six-month countywide pause on data center applications on July 20, 2026, invoking the pending-ordinance doctrine; a related Valara Holdings project is contested in litigation.
Chesterfield County
2026-06
County moratorium on data centers through January 1, 2028
Ordinance 25-26-23 imposing moratorium on data centers, data processing, and crypto mining in unincorporated areas until Jan 1, 2028. The measure runs to January 1, 2028.
Clarendon County
2026-09
Clarendon County Council adopts data center moratorium
Clarendon County Council unanimously approved a data center moratorium on third and final reading on September 14, 2026. The moratorium pauses future data center development applications while council studies impacts. It does not directly affect Project 59 at the county industrial park or Santee Electric Cooperative's existing land holdings. The reported coverage did not state the moratorium's length.
Colleton County
2026-09
Six-month data center moratorium, partially repealed Sept. 14, 2026
Colleton County Council adopted a six-month data center moratorium (Ordinance 26-O-04) in July 2026. On Sept. 14, 2026 the council unanimously approved a Digital Infrastructure Overlay District and partially repealed the moratorium for areas west of Interstate 95 and for land zoned Light Industrial, Industrial or Heavy Industrial; the moratorium remains in place elsewhere. The overlay sets a 65-decibel noise cap, 200-foot buffers, closed-loop or air-cooled systems and a 300-acre minimum.
Colleton County Council (moratorium finalized, related SELC lawsuit paused)
2026-07
Colleton County Council (moratorium finalized, related SELC lawsuit paused) data center moratorium
Colleton County Council finalized a 6-month data center moratorium; the Southern Environmental Law Center agreed to pause its related lawsuit against the county for the moratorium's duration. Target project: Eagle Rock Partners' proposed 1,000 MW/859-acre facility near Walterboro. Hyperscaler unconfirmed. A July 20, 2026 Live 5 News report corroborates the finalized moratorium and continued community scrutiny over power and jobs impacts.
Fairfield County
2026-09
Proposed county moratorium on data centers for a stated term
County Council approved Ordinance 856 on Sep 14, 2026, establishing a 12-month moratorium on data centers. During the moratorium the county will not negotiate with data center developers while it studies economic, environmental, infrastructure, utility, land-use and community impacts and drafts a regulatory ordinance.
Greenwood County
2026-01
County moratorium on data centers through July 21, 2027
1-year moratorium blocking new data center approvals. Voted 4-3. Followed denial of text amendment allowing data centers as conditional use. The measure runs to July 21, 2027.
Kershaw County
2026-09
Proposed county moratorium on data centers
On September 22, 2026, Kershaw County Council unanimously passed on third and final reading a one-year moratorium on data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and data processing facilities.
Laurens County
2026-09
Proposed county moratorium on data centers
Laurens County Council approved the third and final reading of a one-year data center moratorium 6 to 0 on September 14, 2026. It stops the acceptance, review, approval and issuance of permits for data center development. The moratorium applies only to unincorporated Laurens County, not the cities of Laurens and Clinton.
Newberry County
2026-07
Local moratorium on data centers through July 16, 2027
12-month moratorium on accepting new data-center permits, confirmed unanimously after the council unanimously denied the 'Project Altair' land-sale ordinance in June. Staff directed to research appropriate locations for future data-center development. The measure runs to July 16, 2027.
Newberry County (1-year moratorium + land-purchase denial), SC
2026-06
Newberry County (1-year moratorium + land-purchase denial), SC data center moratorium
On June 4, 2026, the Newberry County Council voted unanimously to deny an ordinance that would have let a developer purchase county land for a potential data center, and enacted a one-year ban on new data center projects. The crowd cheered the decision. Newberry County Council unanimously confirmed the 12-month moratorium on new data-center permits in a follow-up vote.
Orangeburg County
2026-09
Orangeburg County data center moratorium (proposed)
Orangeburg County Council adopted a 12-month temporary moratorium on new data center development on third reading on September 8, 2026, by voice vote, after a public hearing that lasted more than an hour. First reading had passed at a July 23 special-called meeting. The county will not accept or act on new applications for data centers or other data processing facilities during the pause.
Spartanburg County
2026-09
Proposed 12-month data center moratorium
On September 21, 2026, Spartanburg County Council voted 5-1 on third reading to approve a one-year moratorium on new data centers larger than 65 megawatts, with amendments; previously approved projects such as the Valara data center are not affected.
Spartanburg County (Council directs drafting of data center moratorium), SC
2026-09
One-year moratorium on data centers over 65 MW
Spartanburg County Council directed staff in June 2026 to draft a data center moratorium and passed first reading of a 12-month pause. On Monday, Sept. 21, 2026 the council voted 5-1 on third and final reading to approve a one-year moratorium, amended to apply only to facilities larger than 65 megawatts with carveouts for certain industrial sites. The county has said the council will formally re-adopt a corrected version of the ordinance at its October meeting.
Spartanburg County Council (moratorium, first reading)
2026-09
One-year moratorium on data centers over 65 MW
Spartanburg County Council directed staff in June 2026 to draft a data center moratorium and passed first reading of a 12-month pause. On Monday, Sept. 21, 2026 the council voted 5-1 on third and final reading to approve a one-year moratorium, amended to apply only to facilities larger than 65 megawatts with carveouts for certain industrial sites. The county has said the council will formally re-adopt a corrected version of the ordinance at its October meeting.
York County
2026-07
Nine-month data center moratorium
County Council gave final approval July 13, 2026 to a nine-month moratorium in unincorporated York County on new data-center special exceptions and site plans; nine already-vested QTS buildings are exempt.
Beaufort County
2026-09
Proposed nine-month moratorium or ban on data centers
Beaufort County Council's Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously on Sept. 8, 2026 to have staff draft three ordinance options: a nine-month moratorium, a complete ban, and heavily regulated data center rules. Each option must go to the full County Council for a vote before taking effect.
Colleton County Council (first-reading 6-month moratorium on 850-acre Eagle Rock proposal in ACE Basin), SC
2026-05
Colleton County Council (first-reading 6-month moratorium on 850-acre Eagle Rock proposal in ACE Basin), SC data center moratorium (proposed)
Colleton County Council unanimously passed first reading of a 6-month (extendable) moratorium over an 850-acre proposed data-center facility on Cooks Hill Road south of Walterboro in the ACE Basin (9 industrial buildings on wetland-adjacent property).
Jasper County
2026-09
Proposed county moratorium on data centers
On September 21, 2026, Jasper County Council unanimously approved second reading of a one-year moratorium, extendable in six-month periods, on data centers, data processing facilities and cryptocurrency mining in unincorporated areas; third reading is set for the next council meeting.
Mount Pleasant
2026-09
Proposed local moratorium on data centers
After the town's planning committee recommended a 120-day, extendable moratorium on data center requests, Mount Pleasant Town Council took up first reading of the ordinance on September 8, 2026.
McCormick County
2026-09
Rejected nine-month data center moratorium
McCormick County Council voted 3-2 on Sept. 10, 2026 against a proposed nine-month pause on data center development; because it was denied on first reading, the measure did not advance. At the same meeting the council voted 3-2 to approve rezoning for the Pollard data center project and 5-0 for first reading of a data center regulation ordinance.
Where South Carolina stands
Across the whole tracker we hold 334 state-level measures in 49 states and 1253 city and county measures, against 1419 primary sources. South Carolina accounts for 4 of the state-level measures and 22 of the local ones.
By total measures on record it is #25 of the 50 states and DC carrying any tracked action, and #23 by city and county measures alone. Ranking is by count of sourced entries in this dataset, so it measures documented activity, not the size of the buildout.
Sources for South Carolina
24 citations behind the entries above. Each opens in a new tab.
- Statewide · S 902 — Data center siting permits through the PSC scstatehouse.gov →
- Statewide · HJR 5526 — Data Center Moratorium (joint resolution) scstatehouse.gov →
- Statewide · S 867 — Data Center Development Act scstatehouse.gov →
- Statewide · H 5286 — Data Center Moratorium scstatehouse.gov →
- Anderson County — Six-month data center moratorium foxcarolina.com →
- Chester County — Six-month data center moratorium wbtv.com →
- Chesterfield County — County moratorium on data centers through January 1, 2028 scdailygazette.com →
- Clarendon County — Clarendon County Council adopts data center moratorium wistv.com →
- Colleton County — Six-month data center moratorium, partially repealed Sept. 14, 2026 live5news.com →
- Colleton County Council (moratorium finalized, related SELC lawsuit paused) — Colleton County Council (moratorium finalized, related SELC lawsuit paused) data center moratorium live5news.com →
- Fairfield County — Proposed county moratorium on data centers for a stated term wltx.com →
- Greenwood County — County moratorium on data centers through July 21, 2027 foxcarolina.com →
- Kershaw County — Proposed county moratorium on data centers wistv.com →
- Laurens County — Proposed county moratorium on data centers foxcarolina.com →
- Newberry County — Local moratorium on data centers through July 16, 2027 foxcarolina.com →
- Newberry County (1-year moratorium + land-purchase denial), SC — Newberry County (1-year moratorium + land-purchase denial), SC data center moratorium wrdw.com →
- Orangeburg County — Orangeburg County data center moratorium (proposed) wltx.com →
- Spartanburg County and 2 other localities — 3 separate measures, cited together foxcarolina.com →
- York County — Nine-month data center moratorium wsoctv.com →
- Beaufort County — Proposed nine-month moratorium or ban on data centers postandcourier.com →
- Colleton County Council (first-reading 6-month moratorium on 850-acre Eagle Rock proposal in ACE Basin), SC — Colleton County Council (first-reading 6-month moratorium on 850-acre Eagle Rock proposal in ACE Basin), SC data center moratorium (proposed) aol.com →
- Jasper County — Proposed county moratorium on data centers yahoo.com →
- Mount Pleasant — Proposed local moratorium on data centers charlestoncitypaper.com →
- McCormick County — Rejected nine-month data center moratorium wrdw.com →
What does bind large loads in South Carolina
A moratorium is only one way a data center gets stopped. The grid operator decides whether it can connect at all, and on what terms. South Carolina sits in 1 footprint.
Non-RTO utility territoryDominant
No RTO or ISO market here. Interconnection terms, study queues and curtailment rights for a large load are set by the individual utility and its state commission.
Duke, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Santee Cooper; vertically integrated, no RTO.
States next door
2 of the 2 states bordering South Carolina have at least one data-center measure on record. Restrictions tend to travel between neighbors, so this is usually where the next one comes from.
Data centers in South Carolina
The US Data Center Map identifies 35 facilities run by 12 operators in South Carolina, each one placed from primary sources and listed by city and by operator, with the measures on this page beside them.
Open the South Carolina data center map → · The US Data Center Map →
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How to read this page
In force = a moratorium, siting restriction, or tax-incentive rollback that is currently enacted, by statute or executive order. Paused = a temporary hold on new incentives or applications. Proposed = introduced and still pending. Failed / vetoed = died in committee, was voted down, or was vetoed.
This page is generated from the same primary-sourced dataset as the national U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker and is re-checked on the same weekly cycle, whether or not anything changed. Legislative status changes quickly; it is informational, not legal advice. Spot something out of date in South Carolina? Tell us.
Companion references: the Data Center Grid Operator Watchlist for the interconnection and curtailment rules that bind here, the Data Center Water Tracker for water mandates, and the Data Center Delay Watchlist for named projects.
Why South Carolina is pushing back
The objections repeat from state to state: strain on the electric grid, water drawn for cooling, and the sense that a facility takes local resources without giving much back. SAVRN builds AI factories designed around those three objections: on-site power that does not lean on the public grid, direct-to-chip cooling that does not consume municipal water, and a training institute that puts local people to work inside the building.
See how a SAVRN factory works Talk to us about a South Carolina site