Vitol Enters Data Center Market with 600 MW South Carolina Campus Acquisition

Energy and commodity trading giant Vitol has made its first foray into data center ownership, acquiring a 600 MW campus in South Carolina through its renewable energy arm, VC Renewables (VCR). The seller is Meridian Gridworks, a firm specializing in data center, edge computing, and renewable energy development. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition marks a strategic shift for Vitol, which has traditionally helped data center operators secure power and grid access but has never before owned a data center campus. According to a company statement, the purchase aligns with Vitol's "powered land" model, which pairs energy generation and storage directly with data center infrastructure. With power delivery emerging as one of the most critical bottlenecks in data center development—often causing delays of months or even years for grid connections—this integrated approach could significantly accelerate project timelines.

"The rapid growth of digital infrastructure is creating significant demand for reliable, flexible and increasingly sustainable power. We look forward to working with the Meridian team to develop a resilient, integrated energy solution for the South Carolina campus," said Andrew De Pass, Vitol's Head of Energy Transition Investments.

The campus will combine on-site energy generation and storage with traditional grid connections, positioning it as a hybrid hub for both power and digital infrastructure. Under the terms of the transaction, Meridian Gridworks will continue to oversee development of the site, while Vitol and VCR will contribute expertise in natural gas, solar, and energy storage to advance the project.

Meridian Gridworks, established in 2025, already boasts 150 clean energy projects that are either financed or in development, along with 1 GW of compute capacity under development, according to its website. Vitol said it believes the partnership will help meet the power demands of digital infrastructure projects along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and at a minimum, the acquisition demonstrates the type of integrated energy-and-digital infrastructure projects Vitol can deliver.

Vitol joins a growing number of commodity traders betting heavily on the data center sector. For energy firms, investing in digital infrastructure is a logical extension, given that power availability—alongside land scarcity and public opposition—has become one of the primary constraints on data center buildouts.

Land, in particular, is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity. Just last week, Fairfield County Council in South Carolina approved a 12-month moratorium on new data center construction, prohibiting the building of data centers on county-owned property and the sale of county land for such projects. Similar moratoriums are emerging across the U.S., mostly at the county level, though New York state stands out as an exception with its statewide, year-long halt on new hyperscale data center builds, as reported in June.