A data center developer that previously received tax incentives from Spartanburg County is now seeking to expand its energy footprint dramatically — proposing to generate 400 megawatts of power on-site, a scale that has prompted pointed questions from county leaders about grid capacity, infrastructure costs, and long-term accountability to local taxpayers.
Four hundred megawatts is a significant figure. For context, it is enough electricity to power a small city, and data centers of that scale rank among the most energy-intensive land uses in modern infrastructure. Duke Energy Carolinas serves most of Spartanburg County’s grid needs, and county officials have raised concerns about how a facility demanding that level of power would interact with the existing transmission network and what costs could flow downstream to residential and commercial ratepayers.
The data center in question previously secured a tax incentive arrangement with the county — a common tool used by Spartanburg County and OneSpartanburg Inc. to attract capital-intensive projects. But the new proposal to add 400 megawatts of on-site power generation has changed the conversation. County Council members want clearer answers about how the facility’s energy infrastructure would be built, who would bear costs if grid upgrades are needed, and what accountability mechanisms exist if the project’s economic projections don’t materialize.
The tension reflects a broader dynamic playing out in South Carolina and across the Southeast as data center investment accelerates. These facilities bring substantial property tax revenue and construction employment, but their permanent workforce is typically small — sometimes fewer than 50 full-time positions for a multi-hundred-million-dollar facility. For a county like Spartanburg that has historically valued manufacturing jobs with broad employment footprints, that tradeoff merits scrutiny.
Spartanburg County has positioned its industrial land base and logistics connectivity — including Inland Port Greer and GSP Airport cargo capacity — as assets for large-scale development. The 400-megawatt data center question will test how county leaders weigh the appeal of those investments against the infrastructure obligations they create, and whether the original tax incentive framework was designed for a project of this scale.
What’s Happening in Spartanburg
- Where is the proposed Spartanburg data center?
The developer is targeting a large industrial tract in Spartanburg County; exact site details remain under negotiation with county economic development officials. - Why are county leaders asking questions about 400 megawatts?
400 MW is roughly equivalent to powering a small city — county leaders want to understand how power demand of that scale would affect local infrastructure and utility costs for residents. - What benefits could a data center bring to Spartanburg?
Data centers typically generate construction jobs and long-term tax base, but employ relatively few permanent workers; leaders are weighing that tradeoff against infrastructure strain.
