Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging $2.8B Valara data center in S.C.
A judge dismissed a lawsuit by Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County challenging permits for Valara Holdings’ proposed $2.8 billion data center. The ruling allows construction to continue, although a separate application for four buildings, a power yard and cooling systems remains pending; the county’s one-year pause on new data center applications does not apply to Valara’s project.
Judge J. Derham Cole Jr. dismissed a lawsuit brought by Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County against permits for Valara Holdings’ $2.8 billion data center in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The group argued the county improperly classified the development as a minor project, allowing staff-level review without a public hearing or Planning Commission vote.
The ruling also ended the group’s effort to pause construction. A permit to redevelop the former Kohler plant was approved in August 2025, while a separate application covering four additional buildings, a power yard and cooling systems remains pending. State regulators previously dismissed a separate challenge to Valara’s planned gas turbines, and the county’s one-year pause on new data center applications does not affect the project because it was already underway.