Project Alpaca data center, Union, South Carolina

Volt Edge Energy's Project Alpaca, a proposed 49 megawatt data center campus at the Midway Green Industrial Park in Union, Union County, South Carolina, is on hold after the County Council tabled its tax deal on April 28, 2026. Company representative Ankit Joshi pitched it as a $410 million private investment with more than 500 construction jobs and more than 50 high-wage jobs once running.

The company's fact sheet said the campus would use closed-loop cooling with "a specialized coolant mixture" from Texas rather than the local water system, while resident Braeden Jones, who has worked at such facilities, said local water would be used and would give off an odor. "Everybody's concerned about our water, about the noise pollution," said Jones, whose petition gathered hundreds of signatures. At a listening session hosted by the South Carolina Energy Justice Coalition, more than 50 residents raised noise, air and water quality and the rising cost of power.

The council tabled the first reading of a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement for more time to evaluate the project, and canceled the public hearing set for May 12. "If the opportunity for reintroduction of the project arises, a public information forum will be scheduled and advertised accordingly prior to any advancement of any Fee in Lieu of Tax agreement," the council said.