South Carolina Data Center Intel

Recent South Carolina data center news

• Jul 15, 2026

  A Year Later, Trumps OBB Act Caused 468,000 Mostly Green Job Losses, Claims E2 BW Research

  E2 and BW Research have released an analysis claiming that Trump-era clean energy policy reversals and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act caused major project cancellations and job losses in the United States.

  • The report says 216 abandoned projects led to $68.2 billion in foregone capital investment, $48.4 billion in annual operational spending, and 468,000 lost jobs across construction, manufacturing, supply chain, and induced effects.
  • It attributes the fallout to the January 20, 2025 executive order freezing IRA and IIJA disbursements and the OBBA signed on July 4, 2025, and says the lost energy buildout includes about 10 GW solar, 3.75 GW wind, and 9.08 GW battery storage.
  • The article is a commentary-style report summary based on E2/BW Research modeling using IMPLAN and NREL JEDI frameworks, and it references project cancellations involving companies such as GM, Ford-CATL, Toyota, VinFast, Honda, Freyr, Kore Power, Natron, Li-Cycle, NorSun, and Ebon Solar.
• Jul 14, 2026

  New York becomes first US state to impose data center moratorium

  New York has announced a one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers.

  • Governor Kathy Hochul signed the order into law, immediately pausing environmental permits for projects of 50MW or more while a regulatory framework is developed.
  • The framework will include a Generic Environmental Impact Statement on energy demand, water use and quality, and air quality, and local entities will receive guidance within 60 days on community benefits negotiations; the order also directs consideration of a New York Grid Acceleration Fund.
  • The article also references earlier and proposed legislation, including S.9144 introduced by Elizabeth Krueger and a proposed national moratorium, the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, introduced by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in March 2026.
• Jun 26, 2026

  Karis named as firm behind proposed data center project in Dubuque County, Iowa

  Real estate firm Karis is reportedly behind a proposed data center project in Dubuque County, Iowa.

  • Project disclosure and status: Karis was identified via public records obtained by local news as the interested buyer seeking to purchase hundreds of acres near Dubuque Regional Airport for a proposed data center; the proposal appears to be in early stages and is subject to a 12-month Dubuque County moratorium on data centers.
  • Background and related details: Karis operates a data center platform, Karis Critical, which it says has assembled more than 1,500 acres and 3GW of potential capacity; the company recently had a Naperville, Illinois proposal denied by the Naperville City Council and is targeting additional sites in DeKalb, IL; New Albany, OH; Aiken, SC; and Birmingham, AL.
    • Town hall: nearly 300 people attended a local town hall on June 24, 2026, raising concerns on water quality, property value, utility infrastructure, and future economic development (source: KCRG).
• Jun 26, 2026

  The Carolinas May Hold a Critical Resource for AI Data Centers

  The US Geological Survey has published an assessment estimating substantial undiscovered lithium resources in the southern Appalachian region, concentrated in North and South Carolina.

  • Key announcement: The USGS study estimates a median recoverable undiscovered resource of 1.43 million metric tons of lithium oxide in the southern Appalachian region, with North and South Carolina likely hosting most deposits; the report complements known resources (the identified Carolina Lithium and Kings Mountain deposits are estimated at 1.6 million metric tons of lithium oxide).
  • Background and implementation details: The assessment used geological mapping, geochemistry, geophysics, and probabilistic modeling; Albemarle Corporation is seeking permits to restart and expand the Kings Mountain hard-rock lithium site (previously idled in the early 1990s). Utilities and stakeholders note the resource could support battery energy storage systems (BESS) to meet rising electricity demand from data centers, but near-term constraints include manufacturing capacity, refining, economics, skilled labor, and grid interconnection processes.
• Jun 23, 2026

  Budget Decisions Don’t Address Core Data Center Issues

  The Piedmont Environmental Council announced that Virginia’s General Assembly and the governor are continuing a $2-billion-per-year tax exemption for data centers while proposing an “electricity use tax” equal to one-third of that exemption.

  • Main announcement/action: The PEC criticizes the continuation of a $2-billion-per-year tax exemption for data centers and highlights a proposed “electricity use tax” that is one-third of that exemption; the PEC calls for the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to assign data center infrastructure costs to data centers rather than ratepayers.
  • Background and other details: The statement notes the budget compromise does not direct allocation of costs for more than 200 substations and thousands of miles of transmission lines tied to data center demand; PEC President Chris Miller urges SCC action and references other states (Michigan, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont) that have proposed moratorium legislation on data center growth.
• Jun 18, 2026

  Enphase co-founder says solid-state transformer can ease data centre ‘power problems’

  Enphase Energy has announced it has been developing solid-state transformer (SST) technology aimed at AI data centres and is positioning its IQ9 microinverter platform as the basis for 1.25MW “super cluster” SST units.

  • Main announcement: Enphase says it has quietly developed SST technology for AI data centres over the past nine months, designing a 1.25MW SST unit composed of 342 microinverters that converts medium voltage to 800 volts DC in a single stage; the design is over-provisioned by 10% and Enphase estimates only two of 342 modules will fail over 10 years, with failed modules removable robotically.
  • Background and details: Enphase will leverage existing manufacturing capacity in Texas and South Carolina and GaN semiconductor technology (targeting 4kW modules versus competitors’ 140kW silicon carbide modules); the company sold more than 50 patents to PowerBridge Networks in May (a small portion of its portfolio) and has not disclosed commercial SST deployment timelines or customer commitments.
• Jun 8, 2026

  The AI Demand Dilemma: Utilities Confront Speculative Growth

  Utilities across the US are rewriting tariffs, demanding financial guarantees, and altering transmission and procurement plans to avoid building infrastructure for speculative AI-related data center load requests.

  • Main action: Utilities (notably AEP and Duke Energy) are tightening large-load rules and requiring financial commitments to move projects forward: AEP winnowed more than 30 GW of preliminary requests to ~13 GW for formal studies and 5.6 GW with signed Electric Service Agreements; AEP proposed requiring customers to commit to paying for 90% of requested capacity for a decade before the utility builds supporting infrastructure. These measures include specialized large-load tariffs, collateral/minimum-usage guarantees, and phased energization schedules to limit ratepayer exposure.
  • Background and implementation details: Regulators and reliability bodies (NERC, ERCOT, FERC) are developing new categories and study frameworks (e.g., Computational Load Entity, batch study processes) and reliability guidance. Utilities are expanding financing and procurement: Duke extended a $10 billion master credit facility through 2031 and raised its five-year capital plan to $103 billion; AEP raised its five-year capital plan to $78 billion. Industry forecasts and planning estimates include Wood Mackenzie projecting the US data center electrical equipment market could grow to $65 billion by 2030, and Grid Strategies/ACEG estimating roughly 5,000 miles of new high-capacity transmission annually through 2035 (fewer than 1,000 miles built in 2024).
• Jun 4, 2026

  Data center developers ousted from Monterey Park as voters approve permanent ban

  Monterey Park has permanently banned data centers via Measure NDC.

  • Measure NDC approved: More than 86% of voters approved a permanent ban on data centers in Monterey Park, codifying a moratorium in effect since late January; the ban bars any new computing facilities inside city limits and can only be overturned by another citywide vote. Key local facts: city population ~62,000, a proposed 250,000-square-foot data center by HMC Capital had its application withdrawn in April.
  • Context and background: The article documents broader regional and state-level resistance — mentions a massive Box Elder County project backed by investor Kevin O’Leary, states that have introduced moratoriums or bans (Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont), and notes Maine’s legislature passed a statewide moratorium bill that was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills.
• Jun 3, 2026

  Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

  Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, posts the latest data center career opportunities on its jobs board.

  • Main announcement: Data Center Frontier and Pkaza have published a roundup of active data center job openings covering roles such as Mechanical Applications Engineer, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Project Coordinator, Architect Design Manager, Electrical Project Manager, Commissioning Project Manager, Controls PM, Facility Operations Director, Project Executive (Owner’s Rep), and other critical-facilities positions across multiple U.S. locations (examples include Pittsburgh, PA; New Albany, OH; Ashburn, VA; Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Naperville, IL). Many roles note remote, traveling, or multiple-city availability and relocation options where specified.
  • Background / details: This is a recurring/monthly jobs-posting series powered by Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting and the Data Center Frontier jobs board; listings emphasise employer needs for MEP/critical facilities design, commissioning, mission-critical power and cooling expertise, energy efficiency and LEED experience, and include travel/remote work options and multiple-site listings for several roles. No monetary values, contract amounts, or deal announcements are included.
• Jun 1, 2026

  Can Data Centers Ditch Concrete – or Just Use Less of It?

  Equinix and other operators are adopting low-carbon materials and retrofit strategies while acknowledging that mission-critical structural elements will continue to rely on conventional concrete.

  • Main action: Operators including Equinix, DataBank, and WhiteFiber are implementing low-carbon concrete mixes, mass timber for non-critical buildings (Equinix administrative building in Frankfurt; Meta admin building in Aiken County, S.C.), and retrofits (WhiteFiber NC-1 in Madison, N.C.) to reduce embodied carbon while meeting accelerated AI-driven timelines.
  • Background/details: The article documents compute densities of 50–150 kW per rack, the shift to liquid cooling increasing structural demands, the timing constraint (construction schedules compressed from years to months), and Equinix’s three-step framework: Avoid, Reduce, Scale; it also notes emerging carbon capture in cement works in several European markets as a decarbonization pathway.