Permits
Permits checklist
1 denied · 2 granted · 3 checked, nothing on file
Approvals a campus like this normally needs (including an air permit for backup or on-site generators), and what we found.
- ✕Tax agreements, third reading DeniedSpartanburg County Council · Feb. 27, 2026: defeated, reported unanimous; TigerDC withdrew the same day News report · Feb. 2026
- ✓Tax agreements (fee in lieu of taxes), first reading and incentive resolution GrantedSpartanburg County Council · Nov. 17, 2025: per TigerDC's statement; county minutes for that date were not retrieved News report · Nov. 2025
- ✓Tax agreements, second reading GrantedSpartanburg County Council · Feb. 16, 2026: carried 4-2 per the minutes (press said 5-2) after a hearing of more than four hours Local government · Feb. 2026
- –Checked, nothing on file: Land disturbance permit, Air permit for on-site gas generation, Electric service filing
Risks
Why it stopped, what could revive it
- HighWithdrawnThe sponsor formally withdrew in Feb. 2026 and is looking at other sites; nothing was built. News report · Feb. 2026
- HighCounty moratoriumA one-year county-wide data center moratorium passed in Sept. 2026, with an exception for projects of 65 MW or less that does not cover this one. News report · Sept. 2026
- MediumMass oppositionA petition drew over 2,800 signatures and hundreds spoke at a hearing, citing power costs, health and grid readiness. News report · Feb. 2026
- WatchSponsor's track recordTigerDC's leadership ran a bitcoin mining site in the county from 2022, a separate operation that is not part of this campus. News report · Jan. 2026
Power
Power and the grid
None energized or contracted yet
Lockhart Power grid serviceProposed, never contracted
the CEO said about 50 MW of the first 100 MW would come from the grid; Lockhart Power buys most of its electricity from Duke Energy; no contract or state filing exists News report · Feb. 2026
On-site natural gas generationProposed, no permit filed
proposed for reliability; no air permit application was found; a press report of a 550 MW figure is not on the sponsor's pages News report · Feb. 2026
Proposed
Getting on the grid
Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.
- Feb. 26, 2026Utility rate pledgeLockhart Power says its other customers will not see rate increases tied to the project or a later expansion. News report · Feb. 2026
- Feb. 26, 2026Council holds offThe council chairman says the tax agreement will wait until state lawmakers set statewide rules for these projects. News report · Feb. 2026
- Not setState utility and air filings: noneNo Public Service Commission docket or air permit application naming the project was found. see Permits
Money
Money on record
4%
proposed property tax assessment ratio
versus the standard 10.5%; sponsor framed it as worth over $250M in taxes over 30 years News report · Feb. 2026
Timeline
What happened, and what is due
SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
- Nov. 17, 2025Permits County council adopts an incentive resolution and gives first reading to the tax agreement, under the codename Project Spero News report · Nov. 2025
- Jan. 27, 2026Site TigerDC announces the $3B campus at Tyger River Industrial Park News report · Jan. 2026
- Feb. 16, 2026Permits Council passes the second reading after a hearing of over four hours Local government · Feb. 2026
- Feb. 26, 2026Permits Council chairman says the tax agreement will wait for state rules; Lockhart Power pledges no rate increases for others News report · Feb. 2026
- Feb. 27, 2026Permits Third reading is defeated; TigerDC withdraws the project the same day News report · Feb. 2026
- Sept. 21, 2026Permits County adopts a one-year data center moratorium, noting Spero is no longer an active project News report · Sept. 2026
The buildings
Specs
- Closed-loop cooling: sponsor says water impact would be negligible News report · Feb. 2026
Who is involved
Owners, partners and builders
Developer
- TigerDC: developer, launched its brand publicly at county request
- Jerry Tang: chief executive
- HG Tiger DC I LLC and Project Spero SC1 JV LLC: project companies
Site and power
- Pacolet Milliken: industrial landowner
- Lockhart Power: electric utility, buys most of its power from Duke Energy
Decision-makers
- Spartanburg County Council: tax agreement votes and moratorium
Still unknown
Open questions
- Whether TigerDC revives the project elsewhere.
- Whether the claimed 2025 site clearing happened.
Where this comes from
124 records from 23 documents
Drawn from news reports, local government records, state agency records, public and commercial datasets, securities filings and company statements, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.
News report 11Local government 4State agency 3Dataset 2SEC filing 2Company 1
Evidence
Every quote behind this page
Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.
Power (30)
- Nearest power line of 345 kV or more: 18.882 kmMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest gas pipeline: 0.107 kmMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest substation of 345 kV or more: 47.14 kmMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Registry status: cancelled no agency permits“ECHO ICIS-Air pulls at the park anchor returned 102 and 84 facility rows”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Name: TigerDC SC1 (Project Spero)“SC1 (also known as Project Spero) is a next-generation AI data center campus”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Aliases: Project Spero; SC1“SC1 (also known as Project Spero) is a next-generation AI data center campus”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Developer: TigerDC“SC1 (also known as Project Spero) is a next-generation AI data center campus”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Stated campus size: 250 MW“Phase II adds up to 150 MW of additional capacity, bringing the total campus capacity to 250 MW”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Stated campus size: 100 MW“Phase I targets approximately 100 MW of capacity”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- IT capacity: not stated“bringing the total campus capacity to 250 MW”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Utility docket / electric service filing: none filed - negative search“Docket No. 2026-158-E”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- DCD reported the sponsor's website claimed on-site self-generation 'potentially up to 550 MW'. The figure was NOT located on projectspero.ai or in the announcement release as opened on Oct. 18, 2026 and is NOT booked in any“The company has said it plans to self-generate a portion of its power on site using natural gas – potentially up to 550MW, according to its website”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Opposition-circulated claim that CEO Tang said in a Nov 2025 interview that he wanted to scale the campus to 2 GW. Activist-blog sourcing only; unverified and NOT booked“he wants to scale this Spartanburg data center to 2 Gigawatts of power”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 100 MW“Construction on the SC1 campus was expected to begin in 2026, with Phase I operations anticipated in 2027 and offering 100MW”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- On-site generation: 550 MW“the project was reportedly going to self-generate a portion of its power on site using natural gas – potentially up to 550MW, according to the company's website”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- IT capacity: 100 MW“Construction on the SC1 campus was expected to begin in 2026, with Phase I operations anticipated in 2027 and offering 100MW.”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- On-site generation: 550 MW“the project was reportedly going to self-generate a portion of its power on site using natural gas - potentially up to 550MW, according to the company's website.”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Interconnection status: No utility filing or grid position ever existed in any source checked: no Lockhart Power service agreement, interconnection study or SC PSC filing names TigerDC, Project Spero or SC1; The only uti“Stone assured that Lockhart Power - and the grid infrastructure owned by Duke Energy - would be able to handle TigerDC.”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Cooling: closed-loop / air-cooled; sponsor states negligible water impact“confirmation that Project Spero utilizes a closed-loop cooling system with negligible water impact”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- TigerDC formally withdrew Project Spero (SC1) from Spartanburg County on Feb 27, 2026 after the county council voted not to offer the PILOT tax incentives (the PILOT had passed first reading Nov 2025 and second reading 5“TigerDC announced on Friday (27 February) that it is formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 400 MW“He said the full build-out could reach up to 400 megawatts — roughly enough to power about 400,000 homes”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Utility service: 50 MW“Tang said about 50 megawatts would come from the electric grid and 50 megawatts from on-site natural gas generation”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- On-site generation: 50 MW“Tang said about 50 megawatts would come from the electric grid and 50 megawatts from on-site natural gas generation”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Utility: Lockhart Power Company“Lockhart Power, which purchases most of its electricity from Duke Energy, declined an interview but responded in a statement”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Lockhart Power publicly guaranteed that its other customers would not see rate increases tied to either the 100 MW project or a future expansion“our other customers will not see rate increases tied to either the 100 MW project or a future subsequent expansion”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Chairman Manning Lynch announced the council would hold off the FILOT until state legislators set statewide rules - the immediate trigger for the withdrawal“until state legislators have a chance to establish a statewide set of rules to uniformly evaluate these projects”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Mass organized opposition: a Change.org petition passed 2,800 signatures and the Feb 16, 2026 council meeting ran more than four hours on public comment; power cost, health and grid-readiness concerns dominated“A Change.org petition against the project has gathered more than 2,800 signatures”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Address: Tyger River Industrial Park - North, Highway 290, Spartanburg County, SC“a next-generation, AI-focused high-performance computing data center planned for the Tyger River Industrial Park – North”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Power plan: grid + on-site self-generation hybrid (planned; never contracted)“TigerDC plans to self-generate a portion of its power on site using natural gas as part of a reliability strategy”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Announced: Jan. 27, 2026“TigerDC announced Project Spero, a next-generation, AI-focused high-performance computing data center planned for the Tyger River Industrial Park – North”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
Money and contracts (17)
- : agreement (existence and parties)“Consider rendering third reading to an Ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- : special source credits“including the provision of certain special source credits”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- : agreement (two-agreement structure)“two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements by and among Spartanburg County, South Carolina; HG Tiger DC I LLC”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Tenant status: none announced - sponsor-built speculative AI/HPC campus“SC1 (also known as Project Spero) is a next-generation AI data center campus”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- : investment minimum / jobs floor / clawback - FINDING“Consider public hearing and rendering second reading to an Ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements”Local government · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Land control: not stated“with respect to certain economic development property in the County, whereby such property will be subject to certain payments in lieu of taxes”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade B
- Gating authority: Spartanburg County Council (FILOT ordinance, three readings); project died at county level - no state filing was ever made“Consider public hearing and rendering second reading to an Ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade B
- Opponents speculated the campus would serve Atlas Cloud, the AI cloud company also led by Tang. No tenant was ever announced by the sponsor; carried as speculation only“the CEO of Altas Cloud that does AI cloud infrastructure”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Construction stage: cancelled - the $3B Project Spero PILOT passed its first reading in Nov 2025 and its second reading on Feb 16, 2026 (5-2); TigerDC formally withdrew the project on Feb 27, 2026 after the council voted“it is formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County and will pursue alternative sites for the investment”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Tenant status: none - sponsor-developed project; no tenant or offtaker was ever announced before the Feb 27, 2026 withdrawal“TigerDC will now focus our efforts on communities that are ready to move forward with this type of infrastructure”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Stated capital cost: 3000000000 USD“TigerDC announced Feb. 27, 2026, it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County and will begin evaluating alternative sites for the $3 billion AI data center.”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- : termination - FINDING“TigerDC announced Feb. 27, 2026, it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- : assessment ratio 4% (proposed; standard ratio 10.5%)“the FILOT to get from 10.5% down to 4% [in taxes] is worth so much money”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- : term / fiscal projection >$250M in property taxes over 30 years (sponsor framing, as reported)“would have added $250 million in taxes over the 30-year agreement”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Tenants: not stated“Project Spero is a privately financed development designed to deliver substantial economic value”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Investment claimed: 3000000000“TigerDC announces $3B Spartanburg investment”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- : inducement resolution“Spartanburg County Council's adoption of a resolution on Nov. 17, 2025, approving incentives for Project Spero”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
Permits and government (17)
- County: Spartanburg“Spartanburg County Council will hold a Special Meeting on Friday, February 27, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in Council Chambers”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Fee in lieu of tax ordinance: third reading - special meeting called (sole substantive item)“Consider rendering third reading to an Ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Fee in lieu of tax ordinance: public hearing held; second reading approved“Consider public hearing and rendering second reading to an Ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Spartanburg County Council: Public hearing + second reading - ordinance authorizing two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements (Project Spero)“Consider public hearing and rendering second reading to an Ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Spartanburg County Council: Regular meeting - MEETING CANCELED (winter storm); the Spero second reading expected in this window was deferred“MEETING CANCELED”Local government · Jan. 2026 · grade A
- Land disturbance permit: sponsor-claimed issued - NOT verified in any public record“Site clearing of underbrush underway at Tyger River Industrial Park — North”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Air construction permit (on-site generation): none filed - negative search“The facility is required to receive certain environmental permits from the S.C. Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) before it can begin operations”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Spartanburg County adopted a one-year data-center moratorium (third reading passed 5-1; exception for projects of 65 MW or less; Valara excluded); coverage notes Spero is no longer an active project - the county's own po“That exception does not apply to Spero because Spero is no longer an active project”News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
- Spartanburg County Council: Third reading - one-year data-center moratorium ordinance (county-wide; not Spero-specific)“That exception does not apply to Spero because Spero is no longer an active project”News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
- On Jun 15, 2026 Spartanburg County Council voted to draft a one-year moratorium on new data centers - any TigerDC revival in-county faces the moratorium plus pending state-level rules.“Spartanburg County Council voted on June 15 to instruct administrators to draft a one-year moratorium on the development of new data center s in the county.”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Fee in lieu of tax ordinance: third reading defeated; project withdrawn by sponsor“TigerDC announced Feb. 27, 2026, it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- TigerDC formally withdrew Project Spero (SC1) from Spartanburg County on Feb 27, 2026 after the county council moved to deny the PILOT tax deal; campus is cancelled, not merely delayed.“TigerDC announced on Friday (27 February) that it is formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Spartanburg County Council (special meeting): Third reading - ordinance authorizing two Fee in Lieu of Tax Agreements (Project Spero); sole substantive item“TigerDC announced Feb. 27, 2026, it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- State framework pending: SC Senate Bill 867 (the Data Center Development Act) was under debate; the sponsor said it voluntarily met or exceeded S.867's standards and would forgo grandfather protections; a statewide-morat“Senate Bill 867, the Data Center Development Act now being debated in the South Carolina General Assembly”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Fee in lieu of tax ordinance: first reading approved“first reading approval on Nov. 17, 2025”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
- County process opens under the Project Spero codename: inducement resolution adopted and the FILOT ordinance given first reading (per the sponsor's statement; county minutes for that date not retrieved)“Spartanburg County Council's adoption of a resolution on Nov. 17, 2025, approving incentives for Project Spero”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
- Spartanburg County Council: Inducement resolution approving incentives + first reading of the FILOT ordinance (Project Spero, under codename)“Spartanburg County Council's adoption of a resolution on Nov. 17, 2025, approving incentives for Project Spero”News report · Nov. 2025 · grade C
Site and other (18)
- Code names: Project Spero - Spartanburg County economic-development codename used in the FILOT ordinance“previously identified as Project Spero”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Sponsor entities: Spartanburg County, SC; HG Tiger DC I LLC; Project Spero SC1 JV, LLC; Project Spero SC1 JV Property, LLC; HG Tiger DC I Property LLC; HG Tiger DC I Personal Property I LLC; HG Tiger DC I Personal Proper“Spartanburg County, South Carolina; HG Tiger DC I LLC; Project Spero SC1 JV, LLC; Project Spero SC1 JV Property, LLC; HG Tiger DC I Property LLC”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- State: SC“Spartanburg County, South Carolina; HG Tiger DC I LLC”Local government · Feb. 2026 · grade A
- Acres: not stated“Phase I will deliver two buildings: Building A – Two-story, 381,726 SF data center; Building B – Single-story, 105,000 SF data center”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Sq ft buildings: 1646550“Phase I will deliver two buildings: Building A – Two-story, 381,726 SF data center; Building B – Single-story, 105,000 SF data center”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Construction stage: not started - no building construction; sponsor claimed underbrush clearing only“Site clearing of underbrush underway at Tyger River Industrial Park — North”Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- TigerDC CEO Jerry Tang became CEO of NYSE American-listed BlockchAIn (AIB) on Mar 16, 2026 via the Signing Day Sports merger - the sole channel by which TigerDC appears in SEC filings.“the Chief Executive Officer of BlockchAIn (as defined under Item 8.01 below) since March 16, 2026.”SEC filing · March 2026 · grade B
- Project status: cancelled“TigerDC announced on Friday (27 February) that it is formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County and will pursue alternative sites for the investment.”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Stage: cancelled - withdrawn by sponsor Feb 27, 2026 after the FILOT third reading failed; never built“TigerDC announced Feb. 27, 2026, it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Current target date: not stated“TigerDC announced Feb. 27, 2026, it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- The third reading was defeated at the Feb 27, 2026 special meeting (reported unanimous) and TigerDC formally withdrew Project Spero the same day, saying it would begin evaluating alternative sites and focus on communitie“it was formally withdrawing Project Spero from consideration in Spartanburg County and will begin evaluating alternative sites”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- City: Moore / Duncan area (unincorporated Spartanburg County)“build the data center at Tyger River Industrial Park along Highway 290 in the Duncan and Moore area”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Filot ratio claimed: 4% assessment ratio (proposed; standard ratio 10.5%)“the FILOT to get from 10.5% down to 4% [in taxes] is worth so much money”News report · Feb. 2026 · grade C
- Landowner: Pacolet Milliken (Pacolet Milliken Enterprises) - Tyger River Industrial Park - North“As the industrial landowner, Pacolet Milliken emphasized the project's limited environmental footprint”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Original target date: Phase I operations anticipated 2027 (sponsor plan; never built)“Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with Phase I operations anticipated in 2027”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Jobs claimed: 50“Phase I of Project Spero is expected to support approximately 50 full-time positions”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- Public announcement of Project Spero / TigerDC SC1; at county leadership's request TigerDC publicly launched its brand and identified itself well in advance of final approval, which it called unusual for a confidential e“took the unusual step of publicly launching the TigerDC brand and identifying its company well in advance of final approval”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- TigerDC leadership has operated a bitcoin mining facility in Spartanburg County since 2022 - the sponsor's local track record; that facility is a separate, earlier operation and is NOT this campus“TigerDC has previously developed and operated a bitcoin mining facility in Spartanburg County since 2022”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C