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Data center campus · Cooks Hill Road, about 4 miles southeast of Walterboro, Colleton County, South Carolina

Eagle Rock Partners data center campus (Cooks Hill Road, Colleton County)

Stalled as of Oct. 5, 2026

A Charlotte developer sought a special exception for a nine-building, roughly 1,000 MW campus with no tenant lined up on about 859 acres of timberland in the ACE Basin; after large public opposition, a residents' lawsuit over the enabling ordinance, a moratorium and an October 2026 settlement that bars data centers from most of the basin in the county, it has no pending application. Also known as: Colleton County special exception case SE-2025-139.

Cite← South Carolina data centers
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Power1,000MW reported · stated
Site859acres

Who is behind it

ProjectEagle Rock Partners data center campus (Cooks Hill Road, Colleton County)Also: Colleton County special exception case SE-2025-139
Developer and teamEagle Rock Partners
End userNot found in the recordsNot yet named in any record or credited report we have found.

The record, newest first

  1. WCSC Live 5 News reported a settlement of the lawsuit: the county agreed to create a Data Center Exclusion Area over most of the ACE Basin in Colleton County, including the 850-acre Ashepoo River headwaters parcel where this campus was proposed. (WCSC Live 5 News, Oct. 5, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, Oct. 21, 2026)

  2. At a special meeting, council unanimously adopted a digital infrastructure overlay district, first applied to a property near Smoaks, overhauling the late-2025 rules; the moratorium was later partly repealed west of I-95 and in industrial zones. (The Post and Courier, Sept. 17, 2026; WCSC Live 5 News, Oct. 5, 2026)

  3. County council unanimously approved a moratorium on special exceptions, conditional uses and other land-use approvals for data centers; the law center agreed to pause its lawsuit for six months. (WCSC Live 5 News, Oct. 5, 2026)

  4. Colleton County's seven-member legislative delegation (three senators, four representatives) issued a resolution opposing the project. (WCSC Live 5 News, Feb. 5, 2026)

  5. The Southern Environmental Law Center sued the county on behalf of two residents, arguing the ordinance allowing data centers by special exception conflicts with state law, the comprehensive plan and the zoning code. (Southern Environmental Law Center, Oct. 21, 2026; SC Daily Gazette, March 10, 2026)

  6. Several hundred people attended a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing, with the developer the only speaker in favor; no vote was taken because of a problem with the meeting notice, and the developer was told it would need to reapply. (SC Daily Gazette, Dec. 19, 2025; The Post and Courier, May 7, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, Oct. 21, 2026)

  7. The Southern Environmental Law Center, for ten groups, filed comments with the zoning board on case SE-2025-139 for 0 Cooks Hill Road, estimating about 650 to 1,000 MW from nine buildings each marked 111 MVA. (Southern Environmental Law Center (via Coastal Conservation League), Dec. 16, 2025)

  8. Eagle Rock Partners applied for a special exception on Nov. 21, 2025, after the county amended its code on Nov. 10 to allow data centers by special exception in rural areas. (WCSC Live 5 News, Feb. 5, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Acreage given as 859, 860, 850 and almost 900 acres in different sources.
  • Hearing attendance reported as about 400 and as more than 500.
  • The settlement date itself is not given in the sources; it was first reported Oct. 5, 2026.
  • The developer has not been reported as formally withdrawing; status reflects that no new application was filed and the site now falls in the exclusion area.
  • Coordinates approximate, Cooks Hill Road area southeast of Walterboro.
  • Caveat: the lawsuit and settlement are described from news reporting and the Southern Environmental Law Center's own page; SignalData has not opened the court filings or the settlement agreement. Claims in the lawsuit are the plaintiffs' arguments, not findings.

The full record

Status note
The special exception was never voted on and no new application had been filed; an Oct. 2026 lawsuit settlement placed the proposed site inside a new county Data Center Exclusion Area.
Power note
About 1,000 MW per the developer's estimate in reporting; a comment letter on the application put the range at roughly 650 to 1,000 MW based on nine buildings each labeled 111 MVA.
Evidence
Primary public records
Size class
50 MW or more (tracker scope)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.