Spartanburg Co. Council holds “fact-finding” data center panel

The Spartanburg County Council held a "fact-finding" panel to provide information to community members and council members regarding concerns surrounding a proposed data center development. The meeting featured experts who discussed various aspects of data center operations, including regulatory requirements, power generation, and water supply.

One key point of discussion revolved around air permits, with an expert explaining that a permit is necessary only if the data center generates its own power. The projected average operational demand for water was stated to be 459,000 gallons per day, which is equivalent to the usage of 2,200 single-family homes. Many residents raised concerns about whether the existing water system could support this demand without negatively impacting other residents or water quality.

Rick Jolly, representing the Water System, affirmed that the system could indeed support the data center's water needs, despite the significant volume. He added that even with this usage, the data center would not be the county's top water consumer. Noise mitigation strategies for both construction and operation were also addressed. The county acknowledged that while methods exist to reduce sound emissions, firm efforts to implement them had not yet been made.

The WSPA 7News reporter, Ripley Simone, emphasized that the meeting's purpose was solely for information gathering and not to make a decision on the data center's future. The next steps for the project remain undecided and will be determined by the "public commotion," an apparent reference to public sentiment or future official proceedings.