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The South Carolina Public Service Commission will not scrutinize a natural gas plant being built by and for a data center in Spartanburg County, bucking the state watchdog’s recommendation.
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The utility regulators voted unanimously Thursday to side with a data center developer and dismiss a petition from local residents and an environmental group. The group of residents, labeled in the docket as “Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County,” and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy asked the Public Service Commission to require developer Valara Holdings to obtain a certificate for its planned natural gas plant from the utility regulators before continuing construction.
Doing otherwise could keep important information about the project, like its environmental impact, hidden from the public, lawyers for the Spartanburg residents argued in the docket filing.
The Office of Regulatory Staff, a state utility watchdog, agreed the data center developer should be required to seek approval from the PSC, in a docket filing.
Commissioner David Britt, who represents Spartanburg, did not vote and was not in the room during discussion, Commissioner Delton Powers noted.
Valara Holdings wants to operate 45 natural gas-fuel generators and 11 natural gas turbines, according to permit applications with the state Department of Environmental Services. The department has granted the first of two requested environmental permits for the project.
The natural gas plant will power a data center being built by Valara Holdings, whose parent company is NorthMark Strategies.
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Valara Holdings asked the utility regulators to dismiss the request from members of the public, which the PSC ultimately granted. Lawyers for the developer argued during a public hearing the more than 450 megawatt natural gas plant should not be subject to PSC scrutiny because Valara Holdings won’t generate power for the public.
The South Environmental Law Center represented the Spartanburg residents in their petition. Kate Mixson, an SELC attorney, slammed the PSC’s decision in a statement, arguing it allowed private companies to violate state siting law.
“As data centers descend on our state, this decision is the equivalent of putting out a calling card to these out-of-state companies: Come to South Carolina, build as large of a power plant as you want to power your data center, and we won’t oversee it,” Mixson said.
The commission still must issue a final order on the decision.
Valara has applied for development permits with Spartanburg County, the subject of a lawsuit, and the state Department of Environmental Services for its data center and natural gas plant.
The $2.8 billion data center development project is being built at 4000 Pine Street in Spartanburg County, with construction continuing through 2028, according to news releases. It includes four proposed buildings, a power yard, internal roadways, a site access road and electrical equipment houses, according to a permit description.
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This is a breaking news story and may be updated.