COLUMBIA, S.C. — Today, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, requested that the South Carolina Public Service Commission reconsider its order deciding that the 460-megawatt power plant at the Valara data center is not subject to the South Carolina Utility Facility and Environmental Protection Act.
In June, SELC petitioned the Commission to declare that the Siting Act, and its open, public review of environmental and community impacts, apply to the Valara data center and its 460-megawatt gas power plant. The Act provides that “any person” constructing a power plant exceeding 75 megawatts of electric generation must first receive Commission review and approval. However, on September 14, the Commission issued a final order finding that the gas power plant at the Valara data center is not subject to the Act because the gas plant will be used to power the private data center rather than producing electricity for public use.
“We believe the Commission’s order is contrary to the plain and unambiguous language of the Siting Act,” said Kate Mixson, SELC Senior Attorney. “The decision would mean that future private power plants of any size, like the one proposed by Valara, could be built without oversight from the Commission. That isn’t what the law requires, and it is especially concerning as we see an influx of data center proposals flocking to South Carolina.”
Eddy Moore, SACE Decarbonization Director, said, “The potential biggest polluter in Spartanburg County should not get a pass from siting and environmental oversight requirements that have been in place since 1971.”
The Commission must decide on the petition within 30 days.
Media contact: Rachel Chu, SELC, 843-720-5270, rchu@selc.org
###
About Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 250, including more than 160 legal and policy experts and advocates, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, DC.
selc.org
About the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Since 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has worked to promote responsible and equitable energy choices to ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at cleanenergy.org.
