An 850-acre AI data center campus in Colleton County is moving forward despite needing a zoning exception because it falls outside current codes.
The site would likely host GPU-heavy AI workloads, so water, power, and environmental impact are core concerns, especially given its location in the ACE Basin headwaters and conservation areas.
The developer is pitching closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling to reduce ongoing water draw and is emphasizing that most wetlands on the 859-acre site will remain untouched, but residents are skeptical about actual risk to water and ecology.
Power needs are not detailed in the article, but any modern AI data center at this scale will demand substantial new electrical capacity, which can stress rural grids and raise long-term energy and reliability questions.
The developer claims 450 local jobs and “net new” AI industry growth, while residents question both the siting process and whether the community was properly informed during council approvals.
Operationally, the project mirrors a pattern we see elsewhere: vendors citing Google-style “responsible” development versus local pushback around siting in sensitive areas.
Worth a read for how AI data center buildout is colliding with zoning, conservation easements, and rural infrastructure limits.
Source: Colleton County data center proposal draws opposition at zoning hearing
