# Fairfield County, South Carolina: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Winnsboro Fairfield County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Construction employs 197, up 48.1% since 2019. Fairfield County is home to Winnsboro. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “Proposed county moratorium on data centers for a stated term”. 4 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (battery storage). 4 MW of it is already under construction or built. Employers here counted 6,407 jobs in 2025, up 17.5% from 2019 (the 3rd fastest growth of 46 South Carolina counties). 4 MW of new generation planned here, battery storage leading +17.5% total jobs since 2019, now 6,407 1,763 MW of operating power plants, mostly nuclear ## Cities and towns in Fairfield County Fairfield County is home to Winnsboro. Winnsboro3,305 residents Ridgeway254 residents Blythewood146 residents · 2% of the city - Blythewood also extends into [Richland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/richland-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Winnsboro Mills. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Fairfield County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in South Carolina | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 20,892 | 20,340 | ▼ 2.6% | 39th of 46 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 5,454 | 6,407 | ▲ 17.5% | 3rd of 46 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $50,443 | $60,039 | ▲ 19.0% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 133 | 197 | ▲ 48.1% | 3rd of 25 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.1% | 5.2% | ▲ 1.1pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 131 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 84 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 4 MW | 0% of today's fleet | 16th of 16 by size | Its power plants have 1,763 MW of capacity, 58% of it nuclear, the 6th largest fleet in South Carolina. 84 MW has retired here since 2019, including Parr GT (natural gas, 84 MW, 2023). Unemployment was 5.2% in August 2026, against 4.1% in 2019. 131 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly natural gas. Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc is the largest utility serving Fairfield County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.59¢/kWh in 2024. 20,340 people live here, down 2.6% since 2020. ## Who powers Fairfield County ### Utilities with service territory in Fairfield County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc | Investor Owned | Bundled | 696,385 | 14.59¢ | 36% | | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 568,586 | 13.99¢ | 28% | | Fairfield Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 32,397 | 14.35¢ | 13% | | Newberry Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 12,970 | 16.32¢ | 30% | | Town of Winnsboro - (SC) | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Nuclear | 1,030 MW | 58% | | Hydro | 602 MW | 34% | | Natural gas | 131 MW | 7% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | V C Summer | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc | Nuclear | 1,030 MW | 1984 | | Fairfield Pumped Storage | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc | Hydro | 587 MW | 1978 | | Parr GT | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc | Natural gas | 131 MW | 2025 | | Parr Hydro | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc | Hydro | 15 MW | 1914 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Longtown Energy Storage | Batteries | 4 MW | Under construction (>50%) | 2026 | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | ### Retired since 2019 | Plant | Technology | MW | Year | |---|---|---|---| | Parr GT | Natural gas | 84 MW | 2023 | ## The Fairfield County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 6,407 | $60,039 | 1.00 | | Construction | 197 | $71,625 | 0.58 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Fairfield County ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | Proposed county moratorium on data centers for a stated term | In force | 2026-09 | ## Fairfield County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Fairfield County, Richland County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Fairfield County | 20,340 | ▲ 17.5% | 1,763 MW | 4 MW | — | 1 | | Chester County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/chester-county) | 33,001 | ▲ 7.7% | 99 MW | — | — | 1 | | Kershaw County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/kershaw-county) | 73,166 | ▲ 5.0% | 110 MW | — | — | 1 | | Lancaster County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/lancaster-county) | 114,296 | ▲ 12.0% | 48 MW | — | — | — | | Newberry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/newberry-county) | 39,561 | ▼ 1.1% | 3 MW | 71 MW | — | 2 | | Richland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/richland-county) | 434,956 | ▲ 2.7% | 992 MW | — | 3 | — | | Union County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/union-county) | 26,799 | ▼ 12.4% | 51 MW | — | — | — | ## More of South Carolina [All South Carolina countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina)[Richland County434,956 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/richland-county)[Lancaster County114,296 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/lancaster-county)[Kershaw County73,166 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/kershaw-county)[Newberry County39,561 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/newberry-county)[Chester County33,001 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/chester-county) ## Fairfield County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Fairfield County, South Carolina? 5 utilities have service territory in Fairfield County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Fairfield Electric Coop, Inc, Newberry Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc, charged residential customers 14.59¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Fairfield County? 4 operating plants with 1,763 MW of capacity. The largest is V C Summer (1,030 MW, nuclear). ### How much new power is planned in Fairfield County? 4 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 4 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC. ### Are there data centers in Fairfield County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Fairfield County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Richland County. ### Is Fairfield County adding jobs? Employers counted 6,407 jobs in 2025 against 5,454 in 2019 (+17.5%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 133 to 197. ### Does Fairfield County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Fairfield County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/fairfield-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).