Data center proposals continue to reshape planning debates across the South Carolina Lowcountry, even as some counties pause new approvals and others rewrite zoning rules.
Colleton County Council imposed a six-month moratorium on data center approvals in July after residents objected to a large rural campus proposal. On Sept. 14, the council unanimously approved a digital infrastructure overlay district that can be applied to designated areas, including a property near Smoaks, and allows data centers and battery energy storage under new lot-size, buffer and closed-loop cooling rules.
Nearby, OpenAI’s Project Camellia would place a multi-building campus in Effingham County, Georgia, while the U.S. Department of Energy has moved toward negotiations with Amentum for a roughly 1-gigawatt AI data center with on-site generation at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Jasper County has also enacted a moratorium.
Supporters point to construction jobs and tax base growth. Opponents cite electricity and water demand, noise and rural character. An older, smaller Cogent Communications facility already operates in Fairfax in Allendale County.
