Data centers in Ohio

"The bottom line is, there's been no more pro-data center candidate in America than Vivek Ramaswamy. Just look at what he said to audiences for years. Look at his financial ties to data centers. He's just been nonstop for them."

"I am against you and the people of this state having to pay for them. If you are going to use electricity from the electric grid, you should have to pay for it and bring your own energy."

"Nobody should have to pay a dollar more on anything because the data centers are moving in. That should be an absolute baseline."

Coleman said he would support legislation to keep utility rates from increasing due to data centers.

Vivek Ramaswamy said he would enforce both ballot measures if they were to pass

Ramaswamy said data centers should pay property taxes and facilities that generate their own power should also pay property taxes

Vivek Ramaswamy said he would require data centers to be built on abandoned industrial sites rather than farmland

Vivek Ramaswamy said the data center ban would hurt the state's economy

Vivek Ramaswamy said he opposes a ballot proposal to ban most data centers by limiting their size

Vivek Ramaswamy said he opposes the sales tax exemption for data centers and does not favor tax breaks in general

"At one time had 100% renewable energy goals and they have bought several power from several solar plants, but that was in the past. Just in this past year, they have moved to building out a lot of these gas plants. And not just in Ohio. So what I would say to Meta is you should be using renewable energy for this."

"Ohio's the No. 5 state for data center buildout. And it's the number two state for gas plant build out of a power like specifically for a data center building, a major power plant."

Trump defended data centers at an October 2026 campaign rally in southwestern Ohio, stating they cannot be turned away or they will go to China.

Trump said data centers 'benefit local communities' and that turning them off would send them to China during a campaign rally in Ohio on October 3, 2026

President Trump said data centers in Ohio will relocate to China if blocked

Trump defended data centers powering AI projects during a campaign rally in Ohio in support of Republican Senate candidate Jon Husted against Democrat Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Brown claimed that Senator Jon Husted gave billions in tax breaks to Big Tech to build data centers in Ohio, making Ohioans foot the bill.

Trump pledged to sign the Ratepayer Protection Act into law within 24 hours if Republicans prevail

President Trump said data centers should not be turned off because they will relocate to China

Tim Scott said Jon Husted is for data centers being responsible and that if a community doesn't want them, Husted doesn't want them either.

Trump administration taking historic action to make sure data centers benefit local communities

Trump praised Senator Jon Husted for an ill fated attempt to push forward data center legislation seeking to ensure they benefit local communities.

Vivek Ramaswamy outlined a plan responding to data center complaints on Fox & Friends Weekend

Jon Husted, U.S. Senator, supports data center development and the Ratepayer Protection Act to regulate developers

Senator Husted received $600,000 from data center interests according to a Democratic political ad

Senator Jon Husted introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act on July 16, 2026, to require states and Public Utility Commissions to establish standards ensuring large electricity users such as data centers pay for their own power generation, transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to serve their facilities.

Libertarian Don Kissick wants immediate moratorium on data centers and establishment of rules for them

Jon Husted, as Ohio's lieutenant governor, championed data center construction and provided tax breaks to operators for years before now calling for regulations on who pays for electricity and infrastructure costs tied to data centers.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy wants to pass legislation setting statewide standards for data centers including lowering costs around where data center is built

"This bill is the only game in town."

Chuck Schumer called Ratepayer Protection Act a fraud and said it was toothless, offering no real protections

Derek Merrin reported capital gains of at least $1,200 from Nvidia stock and options in a financial disclosure covering 2025 through mid-2026.

Jon Husted says his Ratepayer Protection Act would make data centers cover the power infrastructure required to serve them

Eric Conroy said decisions about whether to build a data center should be made at the local level and that every data center deal should be 100% transparent with no NDAs.

Sherrod Brown, Democratic candidate for Senate, makes Jon Husted's data center record central to Ohio's Senate race, casting him as the face of data centers and arguing companies received large tax breaks while Ohio residents face higher electricity bills

Google is redesigning the entire AI data center ecosystem from chip to utility, including optimizing for liquid cooling, low voltage direct current (LVDC) architectures, intelligent algorithms, and facility design

Greg Landsman said the legislation aims to ensure communities know about proposed data center projects before decisions are made and that the bill has bipartisan support.

Google is publishing standardized power and facility technology specifications through the Open Compute Project to enable the industry to build interoperable, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure

Ramaswamy announced a 90 day gas tax suspension on September 23, 2026, about six and a half hours after Acton announced a gas tax holiday on the same morning.

Vivek Ramaswamy said legislation addressing data center development is too complicated to pass during the legislative session scheduled for next week

George A. Elmaraghy, Columbus resident, argues that AI and data centers should be supported in Ohio and that existing rules should be applied without exemptions or public financial support to companies

Between March 27 and April 26, 2025, Ramaswamy described Ohio's data center boom as good or great at least 10 times, with no proposal to halt approvals or conditions on development.

Vivek Ramaswamy has his own moratorium and says he will sign it on day one as governor

Amy Acton announced a conditional moratorium on new data centers on July 27, requiring developers to cover utility costs, use union labor, operate transparently, meet environmental standards, support host communities, and direct development to former industrial areas.

Sam Ronan, Grove City opponent of data centers running for Congress in Ohio's 15th district, cites data centers' strain on local electrical grids, resource consumption, and environmental impact.

George A. Elmaraghy, Columbus resident, states that data center fearmongering is holding Ohio back and advocates for reasonable guardrails on AI development without special tax exemptions or public financial support.

Tim Chadwick, Google's Data Center Operations Area Lead for Ohio and Indiana, noted the skills from military nuclear submarine operations align with data center operations requirements

Brad Bales, senior director of state and national policy with Ohio Farm Bureau, says electricity costs, water quantity, and water quality are concerns

Dr. Amy Acton and Conserve Ohio are encouraging the Ohio General Assembly to pass a data center moratorium.

Data center development must prioritize brownfields and previously developed industrial sites, not farms or the hearts of communities

Conserve Ohio and Amy Acton are calling for a 12 month statewide moratorium on data centers

Data centers must maintain zero environmental impact and use responsible and modern water management systems that protect local waterways, groundwater, and air

Data centers cannot use NDAs; no more secret deals and Ohioans must know who is coming into communities at what cost and risk

Data centers have become embodiment of ratepayers' frustrations, gobbling up tax incentives in exchange for higher energy costs

Jon Husted said that artificial intelligence and data centers were crucial to America's economic superiority because they drive innovation, support high tech industries, and help analyze vast data essential for global competitiveness

Jon Husted defended tax incentives for Google's New Albany data center, saying economic benefits would outweigh the incentives

Dr. Amy Acton called for the Statehouse to pass a conditional moratorium on data centers when they reconvene

Data centers must invest in their own energy generation options and prove the project will not increase electricity prices or negatively impact regional reliability

Data centers cannot pass any additional costs on to ratepayers; all costs for gas, water and electricity need to be covered by data centers and their investors, not Ohio taxpayers or communities

Data centers impact electricity costs to residents through generation, transmission, and distribution costs in Ohio

Data centers cannot be built without union labor; jobs to build, maintain, operate and upgrade data centers must be good paying union jobs operated by Ohioans

Eric Tipton, southern Ohio farmer, says land use competition is a major issue in every local meeting

Acton sold her individual stock holdings on April 10, including investments in Iron Mountain and Microsoft.

Amy Acton announced Sept. 15 that she would not own or invest in individual stocks if elected governor.

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

Ohio residents report soaring electricity bills and noise pollution as impacts of the AI data center boom

Ramaswamy has disclosed investments in companies and funds connected to the broader data center and artificial intelligence industries, including Amazon, Microsoft, NVIDIA and a semiconductor exchange traded fund.

Ramaswamy's campaign has made data center development a major part of his economic platform, while also proposing changes to how the industry is regulated.

Some Ohio residents are forced to relocate from their homes due to impacts of the data center boom

Vivek Ramaswamy proposed signing an executive order on his first day in office temporarily halting approval of new data center projects until the legislature passes his proposal into law

Amy Acton, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, proposed a conditional moratorium on new data center construction until developers cover 100% utility costs, build with union labor, operate with full transparency, and meet air and water quality standards

Amy Acton proposed ending use of nondisclosure agreements between data center developers and local governments, reining in long term tax incentives with clawback provisions, and requiring facilities be built on brownfields or previously developed sites rather than farmland

Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican gubernatorial candidate, called for three non negotiable conditions: nearby residents must receive free electricity from data center developers, new facilities must pay full property taxes with no abatements with revenue funding homeowner rebates, and strict air and water quality standards prioritizing brownfields

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 Jennifer Brunner concurred with the majority while noting sympathy for Fischer's arguments

Justice Patrick Fischer dissented, arguing courts should make final determinations on referendum legality rather than election boards

Sherrod Brown statement in 2015 celebrating Amazon data center in central Ohio saying the facility is great news for New Albany and central Ohio

State Rep. Mike Dovilla directly co sponsored Senate Bill 243, which gave certain data center projects additional time to make the $100 million capital investment required to qualify for the sales- and use tax exemption.

Andrew Minton and William Byers, both registered to represent QTS Data Centers, each contributed $1,400 to Dovilla during 2025 and 2026 ($150 on March 31, 2025; $500 on June 10, 2025; $500 on Oct. 3, 2025; and $250 on March 27, 2026).

State Rep. Mike Dovilla voted for House Bill 153, Ohio's 2011-12 operating budget, which created the data center sales tax exemption.

Not on the record: the record holds no House Bill 153 of 2011 in Ohio. Read from the statement's words: Mike Dovilla voted for House Bill 153 (2011). Checked against the bills and roll calls the record holds.

State Rep. Mike Dovilla voted for House Bill 59, Ohio's 2013-14 operating budget, which cut the required annual payroll for a qualifying data center from $5 million to $1.5 million,a 70% reduction.

Not on the record: the record holds no House Bill 59 of 2013 in Ohio. Read from the statement's words: Mike Dovilla voted for House Bill 59 (2013). Checked against the bills and roll calls the record holds.

Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP Advocates for Effective Government gave $500 to Dovilla's campaign on March 31, 2025.

Vorys assisted Vantage Data Centers with a more than $2 billion hyperscale data center campus in New Albany, including economic development incentives, state and local taxation, land acquisition and zoning.

Brown's campaign placed an ad on September 4 attacking data centers in Ohio

Rick Platt, President and CEO of Heath Newark Licking County Port Authority, states data centers directly account for about 0.5 percent of Ohio's gross domestic product compared with 15 percent for manufacturing

Farmers and agricultural stakeholders express concern that data center growth discussions do not adequately include agriculture or protect Ohio's water resources long term

Ohio Chamber of Commerce study found central and southwestern Ohio corridors are broadly well positioned to support additional data center growth from a water resource perspective through 2030

Ramaswamy has personally invested millions of dollars in data centers according to Acton

Sen. Jon Husted received 631,284 dollars from companies that own and operate data centers, employees of those companies, and lobbyists representing those companies between 2001 and 2026.

Amy Natoce said House passed bipartisan Husted legislation requiring data center companies to pay for power they use, but Senate Democrats blocked it

Acton called on Vivek Ramaswamy to sell his individual stock and commit to not investing in data centers

Husted personally championed sales tax exemption for data centers that helped pave way for Google run data center in New Albany.

Brown said data center companies should use union labor, local communities should have input on project locations, and tax breaks should be limited

Sean Dunn, Husted's senior advisor, is an Ohio based lobbyist who did work for Meta and personally donated more than 94,000 dollars to Husted's campaigns while also working as a lobbyist.

Jon Husted, U.S. Senator from Ohio, expressed disappointment at missed opportunity to address data center electricity costs before midterm elections

Sherrod Brown said Jon Husted was point man for more than 200 data centers coming into Ohio with big tax breaks, no local input, and higher electric rates

Martin Heinrich said the Ratepayer Protection Act lacks enforcement power and promoted his GRID Savings Act of 2026, which would give FERC binding rulemaking authority over facilities demanding 150 megawatts or more.

As lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2025, Husted pushed to expand use of AI in state and local government including public schools, making Ohio a hotbed for AI industry and accelerating data center construction.

The bill would codify portions of President Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a voluntary agreement signed by over 300 utilities, electric cooperatives, hyperscalers and others

Tristan Rader, state Rep D Lakewood, said average Ohioans face higher utility bills and dirty air from data center expansion

Kim Bojko, energy policy lawyer, stated that Ramaswamy's plan to connect private data center power plants to homes faces numerous legal and practical barriers and physical problems because data centers typically avoid grid connection to escape lengthy regulatory delays.

Dr. Amy Acton holds stock in Microsoft and Iron Mountain, which operates a data center near Dayton using 1.4 megawatts

Sen. Jon Husted, as lieutenant governor, championed Ohio data center tax breaks passed a decade ago and led ribbon cutting ceremonies for new facilities

The Buckeye Institute argues against a data center moratorium in Ohio and pushes for transparency instead.

Ramaswamy had a federal tax filing showing a holding worth up to $5 million in Microsoft in 2023

Vivek Ramaswamy holds stock in NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, and other AI and data center related companies, and holds a position in Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF

Helena Volzer, director of water resources at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said it's very difficult to craft conservation standards when the exact water consumption is unknown

Gov. DeWine said lawmakers need more facts about data center benefits and consequences

Dr. Amy Acton's conditional data center moratorium plan is described as much more realistic for lowering energy costs than Ramaswamy's plan.

Ramaswamy's platform announced in August would prohibit new data centers from coming to Ohio until companies pay electric bills for their communities

Lima's zoning code was written decades before data centers existed, leaving the administration without resources to properly assess such projects

Ashley Brown, Harvard Electricity Policy Group executive director, said Ramaswamy's plan is not workable

Ramaswamy said AI data centers moving to Ohio is good and he wants Bitcoin mining and AI data center industries in the state

Ramaswamy said generation makes up about half of a customer's power bill

Moratorium does not apply to Google data center already under construction

Google data center being developed in American Township will not be affected by moratorium as agreement predates it

Vivek Ramaswamy has personally invested millions in data centers and other data center tied companies including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, and industrial real estate firms

Ramaswamy's current plan would temporarily stop new data center projects until lawmakers enact rules requiring developers to provide electricity or compensation to nearby residents, pay full property taxes and meet environmental and farmland protections

Sharetta Smith, Lima mayor, said Ohio is becoming one of the fastest growing states for data center location

Kim Bojko said plan faces legal barriers including constitutional restrictions on taking property without compensation

Ohio is one of the fastest growing states in terms of data centers looking to locate

Amy Acton pledges not to hold individual stocks as governor

Vivek Ramaswamy proposed requiring data centers to provide free electricity to neighboring residents

Rep. Greg Landsman sponsor of Doctors Not AI Act 2026

Greg Landsman pushed for federal framework for AI data centers with water usage guidelines

Acton holds stock in Iron Mountain, which runs a data center near Dayton Ohio

Acton wants a conditional moratorium on data centers in Ohio

Ramaswamy's platform announced in August would prohibit new data centers from coming to Ohio until companies pay electric bills for the communities they are in

Greg Landsman said data centers lack federal disclosure requirements for water usage and groundwater extraction

Rader expressed concerns that the governor potentially would be conflicted, making millions of dollars off data centers

Ramaswamy holds stock in NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, and numerous AI focused companies specializing in data center infrastructure, power generation, or cryptocurrency

Ramaswamy had a federal tax filing showing a Microsoft holding worth up to five million dollars in 2023

Eric Conroy called for local government regulations on data centers with companies paying utility costs

Brian Poindexter, Democratic nominee, believes AI has potential for breakthroughs but need to balance against risks to workers and safety of children with clear regulations

Saadia Holdings told officials the proposed data center would employ 100 people

Dover Township Trustee Chris Russell signaled interest in holding a public vote on whether a data center is welcome in Dover Township

Bernie Moreno plans to introduce federal legislation aimed at eliminating the financial benefit of state and local tax incentives for data centers

Moreno proposes imposing a federal tax equal to 100% of any tax incentive provided to a data center by a state or local government

Rader raised concern about private equity owning both data centers and power companies serving the same grid

Ohio Democratic Party held rally in Bowling Green to denounce Jon Husted for bringing hundreds of data centers to Ohio

Moreno criticized a 4.5 million dollar Ohio tax incentive connected to a data center expansion backed by the Carlyle Group in March 2026, arguing the project was expected to create only 10 new jobs

Jon Husted introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act in July 2026, requiring states to consider standards for connecting large electricity users, including data centers, to the electric grid

Daniel Troy stated Ohio is a national leader in both operational data centers and tax breaks offered to these facilities.

Mark Wongrowski said Meta data center north of Bowling Green in Middleton Township required 75 percent tax abatement for 15 years

Ward 15 Cleveland Councilman Charles Slife proposed updating the city's zoning code to prevent data center workarounds

State Rep. Tristan Rader warned Ohioans about unrestricted data center growth and conflict of interest concerns

Ohio electricity bills have gone up double the national average

Meta data center footprint is now 5 percent of Middleton Township

Democratic Rep. Tristan Rader proposes repealing the sales tax exemption and renegotiating past deals with Amazon, Meta and Google

Pierce Township Board of Trustees Chairman Allen Freeman stated the board will not entertain the Crane data center proposal and emphasized protecting the community from data centers.

Brad Belden board chair of Ohio Manufacturers' Association Energy Group stated projected demand has become the justification for enormous spending and record capacity costs.

Wood County Democrats criticized Republicans for their support of data center projects

American Electric Power Ohio Power Co. anticipates demand will nearly triple over the next decade largely due to data center projects.

U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno called to end tax subsidies to data centers and proposed federal legislation that would tax state or local data center tax incentives at 100 percent

Former Governor John Kasich gave 40 year tax breaks to Google, Meta and Amazon to build data centers in Ohio even though once built, data centers produce relatively few jobs

Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican gubernatorial candidate, said data centers have done a horrific job

Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio reversed his position from praising data center projects as establishing Ohio as an important tech hub to saying he is trying to protect Americans from having to foot the bill for data centers

Position note: Reflects a shift from earlier statements praising data center economic development in Ohio toward sponsoring the federal Ratepayer Protection Act in July 2026 to prevent residential utility cost increases.

Jonathan G. Koomey stated nobody has certainty about data center energy use predictions in coming years

Ryan Augsburger, OMA President, stated concerns about accuracy of data center energy demand forecasts

OMA and Augsburger called for greater transparency in utility forecasts and for regulators to stop treating them as facts

Amy Acton proposed a moratorium on data centers unless they cover 100% of utility costs, are built on brownfields, constructed with union labor and meet other conditions

Ramaswamy's data center plan would prioritize abandoned industrial sites rather than virgin fertile farmland

Vivek Ramaswamy said he would sign an order on day one requiring new data centers to generate their own power

Ramaswamy said excess power from data centers would go to power purchase agreements providing free electricity to local communities

Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to issue a first day in office executive order halting approval of all new data center projects

In Ohio's Senate race, the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned that data centers could help Democrats flip the seat, noting more than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted's neck

Ramaswamy also wants new data centers to protect Ohio farmland, meet environmental standards, and generate enough energy to avoid driving up electricity costs for existing residents

Vivek Ramaswamy promised free electricity for residents living near new data centers

Under Ramaswamy's proposal, future data centers would not receive property tax abatements and would pay their full property taxes, with some revenue used to fund property tax rebates for homeowners in surrounding communities

AEP Ohio data center power demand pipeline dropped by more than half following state rules with grid connection study fees

Ramaswamy proposed steering development away from fertile farmland and toward brownfields and abandoned industrial sites, with strict air and water quality standards, water recycling and greater transparency during the approval process

Ramaswamy says he wants the Ohio legislature to turn those conditions into law if he becomes governor

Rep. Michael Rulli of Ohio told Fox Business Chinese Communist Party has infiltrated Ohio with propaganda against data centers

Rep. Michael Rulli, an Ohio Republican, said on Fox Business that the United States needs to move faster on data center development, warning that China is positioned to win the competition for AI infrastructure.

Johnathan Newman, State Representative (R Troy), voted in support of House Bill 646

Not on the record: the record holds H.B. 646 and no roll call on it. Read from the statement's words: Johnathan Newman voted for House Bill 646. The record holds the bill and no roll call on it.

Bill data from LegiScan (opens in a new tab), licensed CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab). The record chooses the bills, writes each stage in its own words and cites the legislature's own page for every bill.

Public opinion shifted 12 points against new data centers between March and July 2026 according to one national poll

Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown is running an ad calling incumbent Sen. Jon Husted the 'face of data centers' for supporting tax breaks and economic benefits

Sen. Jon Husted attributes rising electricity prices to closure of 23 Ohio power plants under Democratic administrations, not data center construction

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said now is the time to scale the AI infrastructure that will power the next industrial revolution

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the data center will be bigger than any facility ever built in world history

OpenAI said this gives a site that once supported American industry and national security a new role building infrastructure for the Intelligence Era

Max Miller, U.S. Rep. from Ohio, said he supports Ohio's HB 983 requiring large new or expanded data centers to obtain local voter approval, operate with closed loop water systems, stringent environmental controls, pay for water and environmental impacts, generate off grid electricity, disclose development agreements and chemical use, and forgo local tax incentives

"Ohio needs more data centers"

"conditional moratorium on data centers to protect Ohioans from higher costs"

EnergiAcres says it welcomes dialogue

Adam Kramer said 670 trade workers expected over four to six year construction period

Richard Regula, Stark County Commissioner, said data center is expected to bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue

In May 2025, Max Miller voted for federal budget package that included preemption provision prohibiting states and localities from regulating AI data centers

Merrin voted in 2017 for Ohio's 2018-19 budget which included tax breaks for data centers.