Ohio is one of the top states for data centers, with around 200 already built and more on the way. But people around those facilities and future sites are sounding the alarm about their land and water use, utility costs and jobs created, and some communities have enacted moratoriums on new data centers. The data center industry is starting to push back.
Two Republican state lawmakers said they’re putting together a joint committee to look into those citizen concerns and how the companies building those data centers are responding. The Ohio Joint Data Center Committee meeting later this month includes six Republicans and two Democrats from the House and Senate.
"This is a fact finding effort," said Sen. Brian Chavez (R-Marietta), one of the committee's co-chairs. "We're just gathering facts and information on what's happening out there, what reality is. And we intend to disseminate that out."
Co-chair Rep. Adam Holmes (R-Nashport) said this committee will bring in experts, government officials and agencies, citizens and others with information to help people "build more informed opinions on data center development".
“We're well aware of initiatives to limit Ohio data center development during this critical point in America's history," Holmes said. "This public concern has become a priority issue for us. That could have dramatic impact on Ohio and America's future.”
And Chavez admits this committee could end up superseding a data center study commission the House passed unanimously in March: "This doesn't necessarily have to replace it, but it seems to be the quicker vehicle that we're going to pursue right now.”
Higher energy costs, environmental damage, tax incentives that don't match economic returns, and a lack of transparency around the construction of data centers are among concerns raised by residents near these facilities and sites where they will be built. There's also the worry that the artificial intelligence boom behind many data center projects is a bubble that could burst and leave big projects unfinished or abandoned.
"We're currently coordinating subject matter experts to provide testimony to address specific concerns about data center development. We will also ensure individual citizens have the ability to voice their opinions as well," Chavez said. "We recognize the data centers will increasingly hold the information resources that will ensure our domestic stability, economic growth, and increased societal capabilities. The rise of artificial intelligence is certainly relevant, but data centers support much more of 21st century life."
Along with Chavez and Holmes, the Ohio Joint Data Center Committee includes Reps. Thad Claggett (R-Licking County), Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown) and Rep. Chris Glassburn (D-North Olmsted), and Sens. Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin), Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) and Willis Blackshear (D-Dayton). The committee will meet on May 27 and 28, with other weekly meetings to follow but not yet set.
An effort to put a constitutional amendment to ban data centers that use more than 25 megawatts monthly before Ohio voters in November continues. The deadline for the volunteer groups working on that petition drive is July 1, and they need 413,487 valid signatures from half of Ohio's 88 counties.
