Meta, one of the top five U.S.-based information technology companies, will build a new data center in Sage Mill Industrial Park. Rounding out the top five are Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.
“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,” said South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), in a news release announcing the project.
Will Williams, President and CEO of Western SC Economic Development, told ABD the Thursday announcement culminated in two and a half years of discussions.
“And up until about two months ago, I had no idea who it was. I started meeting with people in my conference room that had no last names and no business cards, which wasn’t terribly unusual in our business,” he explained. “Then, 18 months ago, when we started talking about the investment numbers, I knew it had to be somebody big, because $800 million isn’t just folding money. And so, at one of my weekly meetings, I said, ‘All right y’all, county council wants to know who you are.’ And they’ve said, ‘Tell them we’re one of the top five data center operators in the world.’”
Williams said data centers are typically racks of computers used to store data. The purchase price of the property was more than $19 million, according to online records posted to the Aiken County government website. Site preparation is underway at the more than 500-acre site, where the 715,000-square-foot data center will be built.
“That’s the main building, but they’re going to have other buildings on the campus,” said Williams. “They have been grading the site since early spring. They will probably begin to go vertical first part, early 2025 and they expect to begin full operations in the first quarter of 2027.”
When up and running, the center will create 100 new jobs supporting Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
“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,” said Meta Director of Data Center Strategy, Kevin Janda in the news release.
Data centers are notorious for being large consumers of energy. Williams said Aiken Electric Cooperative participated in discussions leading up to the decision.
“There was another group that was meeting with Aiken Electric Cooperative, a separate team meeting with them to see if they could meet the demand when they needed the power,” he said. “It’s not an insignificant amount, but they’re going to offset it with green energy.”
According to the news release, that will include matching electric use with renewable energy, adding new renewables to the grid, and working to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.
The Aiken County center will be the first in the Palmetto State and the 22nd in the U.S. Williams said other communities were considered by the company, but the available property and proximity to transmission and utility lines were a factor in the final decision.
When hiring begins, jobs will be posted to the Meta careers page www.metacareers.com/areas-of-work/data-centers/
