Justice, Ohio Supreme Court
Justice Jennifer Brunner concurred with the majority while noting sympathy for Fischer's arguments
Data centers in Clinton County, Ohio
Clinton County has 1 data center on the record; it is proposed. No county rule about data centers is on the record for Clinton County itself; 1 body inside it has a scorecard row. The latest decision on the record: 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 (Wilmington), September 19, 2026.
How to read this page. Every count comes from the records on this page and links to where it is counted. Nothing is published until a person reads its source, and a figure no source gives reads Not disclosed; nothing is estimated. A rating changes only when a person sets it.
The data center in Clinton County
Each row is one site with its stage, its latest dated entry and what its sources disclose. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed.
Wilmington Data Center
Wilmington, Clinton County
Latest, 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 wcpo.com local outlet
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Tenant
- Not disclosed
Where
Drag with one finger to move the map, pinch to zoom. Tap a pin for the data center, a county for its rules
1 data center in Clinton County: proposed. A dashed edge means the exact site is not in the public record; every pin here marks a town or the county.
The cities in Clinton County on the record (1)
| City | Projects | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 1 | 1 |
What Clinton County has decided
1 body, 11 decisions on the recordWhat the county and the cities in it have done about data centers: each body on its own row with its rating, open, case by case, restrictive or closed, never good or bad, and every vote, ordinance, moratorium or agreement behind its toggle, newest first, with its source.
Reported: the source's date; the item names no day of its own. A month with no day: the source names the month and not the day.
- Wilmingtoncity
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.
11 acts on this row
- litigation
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
- litigation
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.
Also reported by 1 source
- wcpo.com local outlet
- litigation
Judge Jonathan Hein temporarily halted implementation of the ordinances until further review in October.
- approval
Wilmington City Council passed emergency rezoning ordinance at September 3, 2026 meeting after federal judge forced compliance with open meetings law
- approval
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.
- approval
Wilmington City Council passed rezoning ordinance from Rural Residential to Light Industrial in early September 2026 for data center project
- ordinance
Wilmington City Council passed data center noise ordinance with emergency language in August 2026
- referendum
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.
- litigation
Federal judge ruled that Wilmington violated open meeting laws regarding three ordinances for the Amazon data center project
- litigation
A judge ruled that ordinances supporting the Wilmington data center were not legal
- moratorium
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
- litigation
What happened
-
· Wilmington Data Center
Now reported: Wilmington City Council and Clinton County Port Authority submitted response to Amazon request for proposals for data centers in Ohio in 2024. thecentersquare.com local outlet
-
· Wilmington
Litigation: 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 local outlet
-
· Wilmington
Litigation: 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 local outlet
-
· Wilmington
Litigation: Judge Jonathan Hein temporarily halted implementation of the ordinances until further review in October. wlwt.com local outlet
-
· Wilmington
Approval: Wilmington City Council passed emergency rezoning ordinance at September 3, 2026 meeting after federal judge forced compliance with open meetings law fox19.com local outlet
-
· Wilmington
Approval: 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 local outlet
What was said
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
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.
Three ordinances with defective public notice must be repealed, replaced, or re ratified before site plan approval
Every Ohio statement, by speaker
7 more statements on this page
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
Disclosed figures
nothing disclosed by 1 record
Power, water, jobs and tax
| Figure | Disclosed total | Disclosed | Not disclosed | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Water, stated per day | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Water, stated per year | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Permanent jobs | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Tax each year | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record |
Summed only where a record disclosed the figure; a record with no figure adds nothing and is counted as not disclosed. Water is summed per day and per year separately, as the sources stated it, and never converted. A tax claim given as a range is summed at both ends.
By what the facilities are for
| Use | Records | Power | Water | Jobs | Tax each year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | 1 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed: power, water, jobs, tax each year |
A record that lists several uses counts once under each. Each cell is the sum over the records with that use, disclosed rows only.
What the facilities are for
No source on file states what any of the 1 tracked facility in Clinton County is for.
How the facilities are cooled
No source on file states how any of the 1 tracked facility in Clinton County is cooled.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data centers in Clinton County, Ohio", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/oh/clinton-county, updated September 22, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data center records in Clinton County, Ohio", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/oh/clinton-county. 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.
The rows here are part of the Ohio export.
For researchers
- Place id
- us/oh/clinton-county
- Level
- county
- Census GEOID
- Not disclosed
- Rating value
- Not disclosed
- Scale word
- Not disclosed