A proposed data center in Wilmington prompted an emergency rezoning lawsuit and a residents ballot fight taken to the Ohio Supreme Court. It is reported, as reported September 21, 2026.
How much power it needs, how much water it would use and who would use it have not been disclosed.
How to read this page. Every fact links to the source it rests on; a number in brackets is its place in the source list. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed, and nothing is estimated. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with who gave it, and another source's figure never stands in for the record's own. Entries are added and never overwritten; corrections are listed under What happened.
Each figure as its source gave it. The number in brackets is its place in the source list.
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much power it needs | Not disclosed | |||
| How much water it would use | Not disclosed | |||
| How loud it would be | Not disclosed | |||
| Jobs once it runs | Not disclosed | |||
| Tax it would pay each year | Not disclosed |
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is building it | Not disclosed | |||
| Who is constructing it | Not disclosed | |||
| How much land | Not disclosed | |||
| Where its power comes from | Not disclosed | |||
| Grid connection | Not disclosed | |||
| How it is cooled | Not disclosed |
The developer's figure is what the company said; what a permit allows is the ceiling a permit sets; measured means observed. Water is in gallons a day or a year, whichever the source stated; a tax claim given as a range shows both ends, each linked to the source that gave it.
The record adds each the day a source gives it. Why these documents.
Acts of Clinton County and Wilmington about data centers, on the record with their source. A rule about the area is not a decision about this record.
| Date | Who | Decision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | The proposed ordinance would have regulated noise levels, water use, chemical discharge, light pollution, generator testing, heat generation, and required long term decommissioning plans for data centers | wcpo.com | |
| Wilmington | Ohio Supreme Court ruled 6-1 on September 19, 2026 that the Clinton County Board of Elections was justified in blocking a citizen referendum that would have created new rules for data centers addressing noise, water usage, and generators | wlwt.com | |
| Wilmington | Proposed Wilmington ordinance would set standards around noise, light pollution, water use, discharge and heat generation for data centers | fox19.com | |
| Wilmington | Wilmington City Council passed data center noise ordinance with emergency language in August 2026 | courtnewsohio.gov | |
| Wilmington | Wilmington City Council passed rezoning ordinance from Rural Residential to Light Industrial in early September 2026 for data center project | courtnewsohio.gov | |
| Wilmington | Proposed ordinance would confer private right of action on affected residents with fines of $5,000 to $10,000 per day for data center operator violations | courtnewsohio.gov |
| Date | Who | Decision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | Proposed Wilmington ordinance would establish enforceable standards for noise, lighting, airborne emissions, generator testing frequency, water use and discharge, heat generation | courtnewsohio.gov | |
| Wilmington | Ohio Supreme Court ruled 6-1 to block the citizen led ballot measure on Friday | wcpo.com | |
| Wilmington | Clinton County Board of Elections voted unanimously in August 2026 not to certify the ballot initiative after the city law director raised concerns about the proposed right to sue. | local12.com | |
| Wilmington | The ordinance would have allowed affected residents to bring lawsuits against data center operators with potential daily fines, suspended certificate of occupancy, or revoked conditional use of property for data center operations. | local12.com | |
| Wilmington | The proposed ordinance would have set standards for noise, lighting, emissions, generator testing, water use, wastewater discharge, and heat generation. | local12.com | |
| Wilmington | Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a proposed Wilmington ordinance regulating data centers cannot appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot because it included a provision allowing private citizens to sue data center operators. | local12.com | |
| Wilmington | Referendum petition requires more than 1,100 valid signatures from registered voters in Wilmington to make the November ballot. | wlwt.com | |
| Wilmington | Judge Jonathan Hein temporarily halted implementation of the ordinances until further review in October. | wlwt.com | |
| Wilmington | Wilmington City Council passed emergency rezoning ordinance at September 3, 2026 meeting after federal judge forced compliance with open meetings law | fox19.com | |
| Wilmington | Wilmington City Council approved two ordinances on emergency basis September 3 designating data centers as permitted use in light industrial zones and rezoning farmland to light industrial. | wlwt.com | |
| Wilmington | Federal judge ruled that Wilmington violated open meeting laws regarding three ordinances for the Amazon data center project | youtube.com | |
| Wilmington | A judge ruled that ordinances supporting the Wilmington data center were not legal | wdtn.com | |
| Wilmington | A Clinton County judge ordered Wilmington to pause further movement on the Wilmington Amazon Data Services project until adequate time for public input is allowed | wcpo.com |
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Four separate Wilmington area referendums tied to rezoning land for another proposed data center project remain scheduled for the November ballot [2]
· Status: rumored (source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Wilmington City Council and Clinton County Port Authority submitted response to Amazon request for proposals for data centers in Ohio in 2024. [1]
The full Wilmington Data Center timeline, in order
· the speaker role of a statements row
Speaker read again from the statement's source line, "Justice Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Supreme Court": the title in front of the name (Justice) is the role, not part of the name. The old and new text.
· the speaker of a statements row
Speaker read again from the statement's source line, "Justice Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Supreme Court": the title in front of the name (Justice) is the role, not part of the name. The old and new text.
· the speaker role of a statements row
Speaker read again from the statement's source line, "Justice Patrick Fischer, Ohio Supreme Court": the title in front of the name (Justice) is the role, not part of the name. The old and new text.
· the speaker of a statements row
Speaker read again from the statement's source line, "Justice Patrick Fischer, Ohio Supreme Court": the title in front of the name (Justice) is the role, not part of the name. The old and new text.
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
Every correction on the record is on the corrections page.
The court's majority ruled cities cannot create new legal rights allowing residents to sue data center owners through a ballot initiative, citing limits on municipal power
Three ordinances with defective public notice must be repealed, replaced, or re ratified before site plan approval
Every statement about data centers in Ohio, by speaker
Citizens group opposing Wilmington data center
Citizens group opposed to proposed Amazon data center in Wilmington sought ballot initiative to establish local zoning standards for noise, lighting, emissions, generator testing, water use and discharge, and heat generation.
Justice, Ohio Supreme Court
Justice Jennifer Brunner concurred with the majority while noting sympathy for Fischer's arguments
Justice, Ohio Supreme Court
Justice Patrick Fischer dissented, arguing courts should make final determinations on referendum legality rather than election boards
Kim Georgeton, Ohio candidate
The proposed data center site is located half a mile from an elementary school
Kim Georgeton, Ohio candidate
Data centers bring mostly temporary construction jobs and leave a skeleton crew once completed
Kim Georgeton, Ohio candidate
Data centers emit loud buzzing noises, produce electromagnetic frequencies, and operate diesel generators continuously that cause unknown health effects
Kim Georgeton, Ohio candidate
Data center facilities drain thousands of gallons of water per day from aquifers used by local farmers and families
Kim Georgeton, Ohio candidate
Data centers consume high amounts of electricity, straining the grid and increasing utility bills for residents
Where in Clinton County is not in the public record. The pin marks the county seat, not a building, and the outline is the county.
Tap a pin for the data center, the parcel for its record
The other pins are the published projects in the same state, each in its stage color. The imagery beneath is the USGS national orthoimagery, public domain, shown so the land around the site can be read.
Not disclosed. No source on file names the developer. The sources read for this record are listed under Sources.
Power: not disclosed by any source on file. Water: not disclosed by any source on file.
It is reported, as reported September 21, 2026. The newest entry, reported September 22, 2026: Four separate Wilmington area referendums tied to rezoning land for another proposed data center project remain scheduled for the November ballot [2].
Wilmington: The proposed ordinance would have regulated noise levels, water use, chemical discharge, light pollution, generator testing, heat generation, and required long term decommissioning plans for data centers (reported September 22, 2026, source); and Wilmington: Ohio Supreme Court ruled 6-1 on September 19, 2026 that the Clinton County Board of Elections was justified in blocking a citizen referendum that would have created new rules for data centers addressing noise, water usage, and generators (September 19, 2026, source). 19 events are on the county's rows; a rule about the area is not a decision about this record.
5 sources on file.
Data Center Record, "Wilmington Data Center", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/wilmington-data-center-oh, last verified September 22, 2026.
Data Center Record, "Wilmington Data Center", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/wilmington-data-center-oh. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
