But on Monday, Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from the state, called for that expansion to stop.
Mace proposed a one-year moratorium on new data center construction in South Carolina, joining a growing bipartisan chorus of lawmakers who are questioning the rapid spread of energy hungry artificial intelligence server hubs. The congresswoman argued that the facilities are driving up energy demand and leaving residents to absorb the costs.
“These companies are planting massive data centers across our state, driving up energy demand, and leaving families and small businesses to pick up the tab,” Mace said in a statement. She added that the last thing South Carolinians need is higher electricity bills.
The Republican also pledged to require that data centers supply their own electricity to prevent residents from shouldering rising costs associated with the megaprojects. “The rules are simple: data centers pay their own way or they do not come here,” she wrote in a post on X.
Bipartisan Concerns Over AI Infrastructure
Mace’s call is the latest sign that opposition to data center expansion is becoming a point of convergence for lawmakers across the political spectrum. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, introduced a bill in March that would enact a nationwide moratorium on AI infrastructure until certain safety measures are in place.
South Carolina has become an increasingly attractive destination for developers drawn by tax incentives and vast tracts of rural land. Mace’s office told POLITICO she does not have any immediate plans to endorse a nationwide freeze on data center construction.
Her stance follows President Donald Trump’s “ratepayer protection pledge,” a set of voluntary agreements struck in March with major tech companies including Amazon, Google and OpenAI. Those agreements aimed to ease concerns over electricity price hikes tied to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.
