Videos show ‘industrial scale’ land clearing underway for $1B Lake Wylie data center
A massive construction site near Lake Wylie has transformed once-wooded land into a striking stretch of cleared ground as a $1 billion data center campus takes shape.
The development, led by data center company QTS, will be a nine-building complex in York County. While supporters of the center point to potential economic benefits, some nearby residents and environmental advocates say the scale of the project and the land clearing already underway raises questions about environmental impacts and how the large industrial project fits into the surrounding community.
“Our concern is not opposition to technology or economic growth,” said Rock Hill resident Stacy Armstrong, who has organized a petition against the project. “The concern is whether projects of this industrial scale are being placed in locations that are compatible with existing residential communities, waterways and natural resources.”
The project has been unfolding for several years. QTS bought hundreds of acres of land off Hands Mill Highway and Campbell Road in 2023 for the data center development and negotiated a tax incentive agreement with York County, the Herald previously reported. In December, QTS purchased more than 400 acres along Paraham Road for $26.1 million, which more than doubled the company’s land holdings at the site to nearly 800 acres.
The project could include about 200 on-site QTS jobs with a median salary around $80,000.
But residents living near the project site say rapid changes to the landscape and uncertainty about long-term impacts raise concerns.
First, there’s the sheer scale of tree removal and what it means for the environment. Residents also have questions about impacts to nearby waterways connected to Lake Wylie and the Catawba River, Armstrong said.
“The scale of land clearing is significant,” she said. “Residents have concerns about the loss of mature forest that previously supported wildlife and served as a natural buffer between properties.”
She said the community was not fully aware of the scope of the project until construction was underway. Many people moved to the area for its quiet character and proximity to the lake, Armstrong said.
“The transition to a hyperscale data center has created uncertainty about long-term quality of life, including potential noise, light pollution, environmental and health impacts,” she said.
Environmental advocates say those types of concerns are becoming more common as data centers sprout across the state.
“We are deeply concerned about the impacts large data centers are having on South Carolina’s communities and environment,” said Taylor Allred, state energy and climate program director for the Coastal Conservation League.
Allred said large-scale tree removal can damage wildlife habitat, increase stormwater runoff and sediment entering nearby waterways, and add to flooding risks. Projects that involve clearing large areas can also affect ecosystems, he said. Large data centers like the one planned for York County often require massive amounts of electricity and new energy infrastructure if demand increases significantly, Allred said.
“Any situation where a project is clearing hundreds of acres of trees certainly presents serious potential concerns,” he said.
What does QTS say about the environmental impacts?
QTS said in a statement the data center will be built in phases, with land clearing already underway at the site as part of the first phase of the nine-building project. The company said the facilities will use a closed-loop cooling system to mitigate water usage and that tree replacement programs are planned to replant more trees than are removed during construction.
QTS said it has confirmed through a third-party environmental study that the center poses no threat to any endangered species.
“QTS commits to utilizing best management practices for land and water protection and conservation,” the company said in a statement. “Our proposed mitigation plan would restore and preserve a greater number of streams within the York County service area than would be impacted by this project.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
