Project Boulder
Walterboro, Colleton County, SCDeveloper: Eagle Rock Partners
Also known as Eagle Rock Partners Colleton County data center, Cooks Hill Road data center
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
Follow this project
New dated changes arrive in your feed reader or calendar. No account, no email address, no tracking.
- RSS feed for any feed reader
- Atom feed
- Hearings calendar (.ics, subscribes in Apple, Google or Outlook Calendar)
Charlotte-based Eagle Rock Partners, with Thomas & Hutton, proposes a 1,000 MW data center campus on rural timberland south of Walterboro, in the ACE Basin watershed. Sources differ on details: SELC and a developer comment report 859 acres and nine buildings, with the SC Environmental Law Project naming Cooks Hill Road; Live 5's Sept 2026 report describes more than 1,200 acres off Mount Carmel Road, 10 data centers and a $6 billion cost. The project requires a special exception from the county Board of Zoning Appeals, and landowners have sued over the ordinance that allows data centers in rural zones. Seven of nine Colleton County state legislators signed a resolution opposing it.
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Planned capacity | 1 GW [2] |
|---|---|
| Site size | 859 acres [2] 859 acres per SELC [2] and the developer's figure in Live 5's Dec 2025 report [1], including about 234.5 acres of wetlands; SC Environmental Law Project says about 850 acres on Cooks Hill Road with a possible 2,600-acre expansion tract [4]; Live 5's Sept 2026 report says more than 1,200 acres off Mount Carmel Road [8] |
| Buildings | 9 [4] |
| Stated investment | $6 billion [8] per Live 5, Sept 2026 report of the Mount Carmel Road campus [8]; not found in other opened sources |
| Permanent jobs (promised) | 450 [1] |
How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.
Power
| Power supply | Would use roughly half the capacity of the proposed Canadys Station gas plant [5] |
|---|
Water
| Water source | About 500,000 gallons to fill closed-loop system [5] |
|---|---|
| Cooling | closed-loop non-evaporative [5] |
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Water and power
Water
Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.
Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →
Lawsuits
| Crosby and Singleton v. Colleton County | pending [2] Two county residents represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center challenge the zoning ordinance allowing data centers in rural areas by special exception, arguing it violates state law, the comprehensive plan and the zoning code. South Carolina state court, Colleton County · filed Jan 9, 2026 Source excerpt“Today, on behalf of Colleton County residents Miles Crosby and Jennifer Singleton, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a complaint in state court in Colleton County to challenge the recently passed zoning ordinance that allows data centers to be built in rural areas of the county with a "special exception."” |
|---|
Timeline
County Council approves text amendment allowing data centers in Rural Development zone by special exception (fall 2025) [6]
Board of Zoning Appeals holds hearing on special exception; residents voice opposition, no vote taken [1]
Two landowners, represented by SELC, sue Colleton County over the data center ordinance [2]
Seven of nine Colleton County legislators sign resolution opposing the project [3]
County adopts six-month moratorium on data center development [7]
County Council unanimously adopts Digital Infrastructure Overlay District, partially repealing the moratorium [7]
Colleton County Economic Alliance holds an information session on a 1,000 MW campus; developers say construction could start around 2028 or 2029 pending an energy study with Santee Cooper [8]
Issues raised
- Opponents say the site in the ACE Basin headwaters, about 6 miles from the Ashepoo River, threatens a protected estuary [1][3]
- Residents cited insufficient public notice and secrecy around the proposal [1][5]
- Residents raised concerns about energy demand, property values and wetlands [6]
Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.
Sources
- Colleton County data center proposal draws opposition at zoning hearingLive 5 News (WCSC) · Dec 18, 2025 · news
- Landowners sue Colleton County over data center ordinanceSouthern Environmental Law Center · Jan 9, 2026 · other
- SC legislators denounce Lowcountry data center while mulling regulations for the industrySC Daily Gazette · Feb 5, 2026 · news
- Proposed Data Center Campus in Colleton CountySouth Carolina Environmental Law Project · Mar 6, 2026 · other
- New data center developments in South Carolina are shrouded in secrecy, residents sayThe Post and Courier · Mar 15, 2026 · news
- Residents sue Colleton County over proposed data centerWCBD News 2 · 2026 · news
- Colleton County approves controversial data center rules despite pushbackLive 5 News (WCSC) · Sep 14, 2026 · news
- New proposed Colleton County data center campus draws residents' questionsLive 5 News (WCSC) · Sep 23, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Nov 5, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). Project Boulder. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-boulder-colleton-county-sc |
|---|---|
| MLA | “Project Boulder.” Data Center Census, Nov 5, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-boulder-colleton-county-sc. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-boulder-colleton-county-sc |
Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.