Petitions, Protests, & Energy Payments: Spartanburg Faces Knowledge Middle Debacle – The Washington Commonplace

As South Carolina continues to be flooded with data center proposals, Spartanburg County citizens have decided to push back. Following a heated county council meeting, a petition has sparked renewed scrutiny over how these facilities are approved, who benefits from them, and who bears the costs. At the center of the debate are familiar questions that this outlet raised just last month: taxpayer-subsidized infrastructure, rising utility demands, and the issue of local government spending taxpayer money to raise the costs of utilities on said taxpayers.

Just last month, this outlet released a deep dive on data centers moving to South Carolina, including Google’s recent announcement of $9 billion investment into the low country. South Carolina currently has roughly 31 data centers that are either operational or under construction. Palmetto State Watch also held an in-depth discussion with the public on the “good, bad, and the ugly” of these data centers that is recorded HERE.

On December 8, 2025, the Spartanburg County Council was expected to vote on a second reading of an ordinance to approve a tax incentive package for an unnamed company that wants to invest over $3 billion in a data center known as Project Spero. This is not an unusual strategy to take, as conglomerates like Google and Meta (Facebook) also used code names in South Carolina to receive tax incentives before announcing their business name to the public.

According to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the second reading is typically when the company seeking an investment deal is made public. County Administrator Cole Alverson told the Spartanburg Herald that the company asked for the the vote to be delayed.

Several Spartanburg county citizens voiced their concerns during public comment at the December 8th meeting regarding strained infrastructure, environmental impacts and “backroom deals”.

State Representative Sarita Edgerton (R) was one of these citizens. We spoke with Representative Edgerton, who delivered many negotiating points to Spartanburg County Council, OneSpartanburg INC (the county’s chamber of commerce-turned nonprofit), and the county administrator if the county “must” continue approving data centers.

“These companies need to be required to employ a certain percentage from within the county. Set levels of guaranteed revenue or they lose any tax exemption if these levels aren’t maintained, must be self-sustaining not a drain on water and power. This is called a closed loop system. GE in GVL makes a turbine that can help with that. No special tax rates.”

“Why are we giving the richest companies in the world FILOTs and tax breaks?” Edgerton continued, “These backroom deals and NDAs make the public distrust our government even more than they already do. I was then told by a councilman that I (from Columbia) didn’t need to interfere with the way our county is run. I live in the county and I represent 42,000+ county residents so I have every right to speak up. I was then told to sit down and be quiet or I would be escorted from the room by police.”

This councilman was Spartanburg County Council’s only democrat member, Monier Absaft.

Concerned citizen Cheryl Tillotson shared her thoughts in-person and online as well, adding that this $3.1 billion investment is only going to produce 27 jobs. “…My question is: what kind of jobs are we talking about?” Tillotson added, “When I did some research on other facilities of this nature in other areas I found that the main jobs produced are typically low wage, term-limited, non technical positions such as security, maintenance, and janitorial work. Not long term career opportunities for local residents.”

Tillotson highlighted the known fact that data centers increase utility rates through power usage or through costs of infrastructure upgrades that residence end up paying for. “In Clark County, Illinois, energy prices for residential consumers have increased 20.7%; In Lafitte, Louisiana, a 39% increase; in Michigan, electricity rates have increased by 25%.”

In April 2025, NorthMark Strategies received tax incentives from Spartanburg County Council and is expected to invest $2.8 billion in its data center that is supposed to create around 27 jobs.

Spartanburg is not the only county pushing back. Dylan Nolan from FITSNews recently covered the Colleton County Council’s December meeting to amend its zoning process to facilitate the construction of a 859-acre data center near Green Pond, SC. Hundreds of citizens and several politicians filled up a civic center to share their perspective regarding this project, which you can watch below.

A petition to “Stop Data Centers Coming to Upstate, SC” has garnered nearly 1,000 signatures and several comments. The petition calls for Spartanburg County Council and Cherokee County Council, as well as the State of South Carolina to call for moratorium on data centers until adequate regulations are enacted and to host a public forum to have a discussion on community concerns.

The next Spartanburg County Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 26, 2026 at 5:15pm. It will be held at the Spartanburg County Administration Building, located at 366 North Church Street. The meeting will be livestreamed (but not recorded) HERE.

Article posted with permission from Palmetto State Watch Foundation