A $3 billion AI data center project in Spartanburg County is facing backlash over perceived secrecy, even as the vendor, TigerDC, pitches it as a modern, efficient facility with minimal water use and a small environmental footprint.
Local opposition is focused on classic AI infra pain points: power demand, air and water impacts, noise, and light pollution, with residents arguing current land-use and zoning rules are too weak for large-scale compute builds.
County officials insist no binding decisions will be made behind closed doors and are now planning public workshops, which signals that community education on what AI data centers actually mean for grids and neighborhoods is becoming table stakes.
TigerDC frames the build as using existing utilities, which likely means heavy incremental load on current electrical infrastructure rather than greenfield power, a key detail for anyone tracking regional grid stress from GPU-heavy deployments.
The project still needs two more council votes, and the delay requested by TigerDC suggests both political risk and ongoing negotiation around conditions, permitting, or incentives.
For AI infra watchers, this is another example of how local governance, land-use policy, and transparency can make or break data center timelines as GPU demand pushes into new regions.
The piece is useful for reading the social and regulatory signals that will shape where and how future AI data centers can actually get built.
Source: ‘Secret deals’: Group reacts to data center planned for Upstate industrial park
