Vitol acquires South Carolina data center campus in AI infrastructure push

Vitol’s renewable energy arm acquired a data center campus in South Carolina from Meridian Gridworks, marking an expansion by the commodity trader into artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Meridian will continue developing the campus, while Vitol and VC Renewables will support development of the site’s power supply and energy storage infrastructure, the company said Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The transaction comes as rapid data center construction reshapes power generation and grid-connectivity businesses. Commodity trading firms have also expanded their ownership of power plants and storage assets, particularly in the United States.

Andrew De Pass, Vitol’s head of energy transition investments, said growth in digital infrastructure is increasing demand for reliable, flexible and more sustainable power.

Data center growth depends partly on securing land that has both building permits and access to reliable power, a constraint as operators add computing capacity for AI.