Data Centers in South Carolina

South Carolina – Resilient Power and Strong Tax Incentives

South Carolina is an excellent choice for businesses requiring cost-effective, highly reliable power and significant tax advantages for their data center operations. The state's robust nuclear-heavy power grid and specific data center tax exemptions create a compelling financial case for deployments serving the southeastern United States. This market ensures stable operating costs and a favorable regulatory environment for long-term digital infrastructure investment.

South Carolina: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: South Carolina is served by over 4 providers, offering a good mix of regional and national carriers for network redundancy, as of September 2025. Carrier-neutral facilities are available, primarily concentrated in the state's major business centers.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There are no direct public cloud on-ramps within South Carolina, as of September 2025. Businesses connect to major cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure through dedicated network connections to nearby interconnection hubs, most commonly Atlanta, Georgia.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is limited within the state. Most network traffic exchange occurs through private peering arrangements or via connections to major IXPs in Atlanta, which serves as the primary peering point for the Southeast.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are available from providers located within the region, offering dedicated compute for performance-sensitive applications. Providers like Hivelocity can service the area from nearby data center markets.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: The industrial electricity rate in South Carolina is approximately $0.07/kWh, as of September 2025. This highly competitive price is a direct result of the state's power generation mix, which is dominated by nuclear energy (≈55%) and natural gas (≈24%). These low and stable power costs provide a significant operational expense advantage for compute-heavy workloads.

Power Grid Reliability: The state's power grid is well-engineered, especially in corridors supporting industrial and commercial activity. The reliance on nuclear power provides a consistent and high-uptime source of baseload electricity, a critical factor for maintaining data center operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers in South Carolina are strategically located to support the state's growing manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace industries in cities like Greenville, Charleston, and Columbia. This proximity enables low-latency connectivity for local enterprise and industrial operations.

Regional Market Reach: From South Carolina, businesses can effectively serve a large portion of the southeastern United States, including major metro areas in North Carolina and Georgia. It provides a strategic location for disaster recovery and secondary infrastructure for companies based in Atlanta or Charlotte.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: South Carolina provides significant, data center-specific tax incentives. The state offers a complete sales and use tax exemption on electricity, computer equipment, and software purchases for qualifying data center projects. This directly reduces both the initial capital investment and ongoing operational costs.

Natural Disaster Risk

South Carolina has a High natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 88.80, as of September 2025. The state's geography exposes it to several significant environmental threats that require careful facility planning and site selection.

Key risks include hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms (including hail and lightning), and flooding from heavy rainfall. While the overall risk score is high, inland locations away from the coast can mitigate the most severe hurricane-related impacts like storm surge.