Meta selects Aiken County for first South Carolina data center
Meta has announced it is establishing the company’s first South Carolina operation with a new data center in Aiken County.
The $800 million investment will support 100 new operational jobs. Aiken is south of Clinton, traveling through portions of Newberry, Saluda and Edgefield counties.
Meta's data centers are part of the global infrastructure that powers the company’s technologies and services, including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Once operational, the 715,000-square-foot data center, located in the Sage Mill Industrial Park in Aiken County, will be optimized for Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
The data center’s electricity use will be matched with 100% renewable energy, and Meta will work with local partners to add new renewables to the grid. The campus will also achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification once operational.
The Aiken County data center will be Meta’s 22nd data center in the U.S. and 26th in the world. It is expected to be operational in spring 2027. Meta is committed to hiring locally and working with local partners to construct, operate, supply and maintain its data centers. Job opportunities will be available on the Meta careers page.
QUOTES
“We are excited to make Aiken County our new home and are committed to playing a positive role here and investing in the community’s long-term vitality. South Carolina stood out as an outstanding location for our newest data center thanks to its great access to infrastructure and energy, deep pool of talent, and amazing community partners. Our thanks go out to all who have helped get us here.” -Meta Director of Data Center Strategy Kevin Janda
"Meta's decision to locate its newest operation in Aiken County is a major win for South Carolina's thriving technology industry. Meta's $800 million investment will significantly impact our economy, creating valuable jobs and further driving innovation. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Meta that will benefit our communities and enhance our state's reputation as a technological leader." -Gov. Henry McMaster
“When a globally recognized company like Meta chooses to invest in South Carolina, it speaks volumes about our state’s world-class business environment and workforce. We welcome Meta’s new operation and the job opportunities it will bring to the Aiken County community.” -Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III
“I am pleased to see this major new investment in Aiken County’s high-end industrial sector. It will be a significant addition to our tax base, and it demonstrates the wisdom of maintaining a low-tax, business-friendly environment. This is a huge win for Aiken County and South Carolina as a whole.” -Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that Aiken County and the Western South Carolina region can compete in the knowledge-based economy. The investment of $800 million and the creation of 100 new jobs by Meta is a powerful statement on their part. We look forward to working closely with them.” -Western SC Economic Development Partnership Chairman Gary Stooksbury
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Facebook parent company building $800M data center in Aiken County
The 715,000-square-foot center is Meta’s first in SC, bringing 100 new jobs
BY: JESSICA HOLDMAN, SC Daily Gazette - AUGUST 29, 2024 3:52 PM
IMAGES:
A rendering of the $800 million data center under construction in Aiken County by Facebook parent company Meta (provided by Meta)
Construction is well underway Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, on a new $800 million data center being built by Meta in Aiken County’s Sage Mill Industrial Park, near Graniteville. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
Kevin Janda, Meta’s director of data center strategy, speaks at the company’s announcement event Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Aiken County. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
GRANITEVILLE — Facebook parent company, Meta, is behind a $800 million data center breaking ground in Aiken County, an economic development deal that’s been years in the making, the tech giant announced Thursday.
The 715,000-square-foot center is expected to employ 100 workers in western South Carolina. It marks Meta’s first data center in the state and will power the company’s efforts related to artificial intelligence, as well as its multiple social media platforms.
“Metaphorically, we’re connecting the entire world, in many ways, right through Aiken County,” said Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken.
The data center will be Meta’s 22nd in the U.S. and 26th in the world. It is expected to be operational in spring 2027.
The announcement comes a week after a state Senate panel began work to address the future of energy in the Palmetto State. South Carolina, like much of the country, is wrestling with a need for more electricity, driven by a swelling population, a growing manufacturing sector and advances in technology. And data centers, with their often massive energy and water needs, are part of the conversation.
“We’ve got plenty of water,” Gov. Henry McMaster said while speaking about the state’s resources during the Meta event. “We’re working on the power as well.”
The governor called the announcement “a major win for South Carolina’s thriving technology industry.”
Meta’s data center is expected to draw 200 megawatts, economic development officials told the Aiken County Council last year, similar to several other major projects previously announced around the state.
The company wants to power the center with 100% renewable energy, said Kevin Janda, Meta’s director of data center strategy.
Meanwhile, to keep up with growing electricity demands, state-owned utility Santee Cooper is seeking legislative permission to partner with Virginia-headquartered Dominion Energy on a 2,000-megawatt, natural gas-fired power plant on the site of a former coal plant in Colleton County.
At the same time, legislation to allow the partnership introduced sweeping regulatory changes criticized by environmental and consumer groups. The bill ultimately stalled during the regular legislative session, with Senate leadership promising to consider the issue further this fall.
Among those concerned was Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey.
The Edgefield Republican attended Meta’s announcement for the data center that it’s building about 11 miles from the Senate GOP leader’s home town.
“Society has evolved and we’re much more technologically based,” said Massey, who has acknowledged the need for more data centers.
“I am concerned, however, looking at the amount of electricity and water these facilities use, and I think going forward we’re going to have to come up with a different way to manage that,” he added.
Massey and other senators heard from the heads of South Carolina’s major utilities last week that data centers make up 65% to 70% of the growth in power demand expected in the state within the next decade.
Meta’s data center, he said, is bringing a relatively sizable number of high tech jobs. It also will increase the property tax base, though the center will be taxed at a reduced, 4% rate usually reserved for homeowners for 40 years under a deal passed in April 2023 by the county council.
The company also plans to get involved with area schools to promote and support science and technology education, said Janda.
“We’re going to have more of these and that’s not a bad thing,” Massey said. “But we do have to figure out how we best use our resources.”
Other data centers operating or announced in South Carolina include:
Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the SC Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
