Silicon Ranch will partner with Columbia-based Central Electric Power Cooperative to build a 100-megawatt solar farm that will support Meta’s first data center in South Carolina. Silicon Ranch will fund, build, own and operate the facility in coordination with Santee Cooper.
The agreement expands Silicon Ranch’s relationships with both Central and Meta. The 100 MW solar facility will be the fourth between Silicon Ranch and Central, a generation and transmission cooperative that secures power for South Carolina’s 19 distribution electric cooperatives.
In addition, the energy infrastructure project is the 18th in the growing partnership between Silicon Ranch and Meta, representing well over 1,500 MW of renewable energy capacity that have catalyzed investments of more than $2.5 billion by Silicon Ranch across four states to support Meta’s operations, an Aug. 19 news release said.
As part of the agreement, Silicon Ranch will fund, build, own and operate the facility in coordination with the system balancing authority, Santee Cooper.
Central will purchase energy from the facility as part of its statewide power portfolio, benefiting all 19 of its member cooperatives.
Aiken Electric Cooperative, one of those members, will serve the Meta facility -- currently under construction in the Sage Mill Industrial Park near Graniteville.
In connection with its investment, Meta will receive all renewable energy credits associated with the facility energy.
The solar project represents a capital investment of more than $100 million in Orangeburg County. Silicon Ranch estimates the solar facility will generate more than $8 million in new tax revenues to help fund local schools, infrastructure and other community-identified priorities.
Silicon Ranch will also care for the land under its Regenerative Energy® land stewardship program, which seeks to improve the quality of land by promoting deep-rooted, multi-species grasses and pollinator habitat under and around the solar array.
The data center and Silicon Ranch’s Orangeburg County solar facility are both expected to come online in 2027.
