A proposed data center in South Carolina is moving a step closer after officials signaled approval of a tax incentive project.

As reported by Fox and others, the Spartanburg County Council approved the second reading of Project Spero in a 5-2 vote this week.

TigerDC had filed to develop a facility in the Tyger River Industrial Park near Spartanburg along Highway 290. The company is seeking a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with the county, with a final vote expected to take place next month.

First announced last year, the $3 billion data center project passed its first reading in November. The company has operated a Bitcoin mining facility in Spartanburg County since 2022. Few details about that facility are available.

Construction on the new SC1 campus is expected to begin in 2026, with Phase I operations anticipated in 2027 and offering 100MW. The site will use a closed-loop cooling system.

On its website, Tiger says the first phase will include one single-story building and one two-story facility. Two further phases could see the development of seven two-story facilities and a dedicated substation.

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.

TigerDC said the project is named after South Carolina’s state motto, Dum Spiro Spero: “While I breathe, I hope.”

A Change.org petition against the project has gathered more than 2,800 signatures, and this week’s council meeting lasted more than four hours due to the number of people wishing to comment on the proposals.

Spartanburg County is located to the east of Greenville, in the northwest of South Carolina.

A few data center projects have come to Spartanburg in recent years, and chief among them is a $2.8bn facility proposed by investment firm NorthMark Strategies last year.

TigerDC is led by Jerry Tang, previously a managing director at financial firm Natixis. He recently founded a new venture firm, VCV, and is also CEO of AI cloud firm Atlas Cloud. Atlas is a customer of Soluna in Texas.

“Spartanburg has become a second home for me,” said Jerry Tang, CEO of TigerDC. “This is a community that values responsible growth, and TigerDC has already shown we can be a dependable long-term partner. Project Spero builds on that track record and reflects our commitment to continued investment alongside trusted local partners.”