Ohio Data Center Intel

Recent Ohio data center news

• Apr 10, 2026

  Episode for April 10, 2026

  The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection held a public hearing to gather comments about a new permit for Shell’s ethane cracker / plastic production facility in Beaver County.

  • DEP public hearing: The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection held a public hearing in Beaver County to collect comments on a new permit for Shell‘s ethane cracker / plastic production facility; the hearing drew both support and opposition and is covered in the Allegheny Front episode (April 10, 2026).
  • Background and additional coverage: A report by PennEnvironment gives Pennsylvania an F for rooftop solar permitting; Pennsylvania state lawmakers have introduced multiple bills to address data center growth (covering electricity and water use and potential tax breaks); the episode also highlights the American woodcock mating display and an Ohio legislator‘s proposal to reintroduce elk.
• Apr 10, 2026

  COL8 Data Center Spec Sheet

  COL5 has announced its newest AI-ready data center in Columbus offering ultra-low latency, high-density colocation with direct network and cloud connectivity.

  • Main announcement: COL5’s Columbus facility offers ultra-low latency, high-density colocation, and direct connectivity to 50+ networks, Ohio IX, and top cloud providers; readers are invited to download the spec sheet for full specifications.
  • Facility details: Marketed as AI-ready and sustainable, high-performance infrastructure to support critical IT deployments; the announcement is promotional and provides no pricing or timeline details.
• Apr 10, 2026

  COL7 Data Center Spec Sheet

  COL5 has announced availability of COL5, Columbus’ newest AI-ready data center offering ultra-low latency, high-density colocation.

  • Main announcement: COL5 is promoting its COL5 Columbus facility as an AI-ready data center offering ultra-low latency and high-density colocation, with direct connectivity to 50+ networks, Ohio IX, and top cloud providers.
  • Background/details: The message invites stakeholders to download the spec sheet to explore the facility’s sustainable, high-performance infrastructure for powering critical IT deployments; no pricing or timeline details are provided.
• Apr 9, 2026

  From Reactor Designs to Real Projects: SMRs Enter the Execution Era as AI Power Demand Accelerates

  Data Center Frontier reports that the SMR story in early 2026 has moved from reactor design discussion to concrete industrial execution focused on permits, fuel, supply chains, financing, and customer traction.

  • Main announcement / action: Through Q1 2026 (notably March), multiple vendors advanced from partnership announcements to tangible progress: TerraPower secured an NRC construction permit for Natrium; Holtec had its LWA docketed for two SMR-300 units at Palisades and is pursuing preliminary construction and a partnership with Hyundai Engineering & Construction (aiming at up to 10 GW in North America); X-energy confidentially filed for an IPO (Reuters, March 20) and signed MOUs with Talen Energy (evaluating multiple four-unit Xe-100 deployments) and IHI to strengthen U.S.-Japan supply chains.
  • Background and other details: Vendors are addressing three execution constraints: regulatory progress, manufacturing and fuel ecosystems (e.g., NuScale expanded its Framatome fuel partnership and planned U.S. production at Richland; Oklo and Centrus plan HALEU-related joint activities at Piketon, Ohio; Kairos secured a HALEU contract with DOE), and customer alignment (growing emphasis on industrial users, utilities, and data-center-driven load). Additional milestones: GE Hitachi advanced BWRX-300 deployment work (Step 2 UK GDA, MoUs in Southeast Asia and Poland) and Rolls-Royce SMR received a UK Justification Decision and partnered on supply-chain and control-systems work.
• Apr 7, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

  Four Reasons New AI Data Centers Won’t Overwhelm the Electricity Grid

  Robin Gaster argues that the AI Data Center Moratorium Act introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is unnecessary and misunderstands the drivers of electricity prices.

  • Main point: The author contends the moratorium is unnecessary because electricity price increases are driven largely by fuel costs (especially natural gas), capacity/backup costs, and utility capex, and there are four practical pathways (slower buildout, demand management, bring-your-own-power/BYOP, and utility contract structures) to add data center load without raising rates. The piece explicitly rejects emergency federal action and frames the Sanders–Ocasio-Cortez bill as an inappropriate response.
  • Background and specifics:>240 GW of data center announcements (mostly planned to 2030) is cited but only ~1/3 being built; OpenAI plans $600 billion in data center investment by 2030 vs ~$20 billion in revenues; PJM capacity prices rose from ~$60/kWh (2024) to > $300/kWh (2025); typical permit timelines 6–18 months, design/construction 20–54 months, queue times in PJM up to 8 years; contractual protections noted include 15-year minimum contracts, ~85% minimum load guarantees, exit fees, and “hold harmless” guarantees used by some hyperscalers.
• Apr 4, 2026

  Benji Backer: Nature is Nonpartisan

  Benji Backer has launched Nature is Nonpartisan to create a culturally relevant, nonpartisan conservation movement and to reframe how environmental issues are discussed.

  • Main action: Nature is Nonpartisan has produced media projects (a six-episode YouTube series already filmed) and is launching campaigns including “Going Public” (a public-lands ownership/certificate campaign running until May 30) to mobilize Americans around public lands and conservation. The organization also helped craft an executive order establishing the “Make America Beautiful Again” Conservation Commission and continues policy engagement while positioning the movement as nonpartisan.
  • Background and complementary action: Benji Backer previously founded the American Conservation Coalition (ACC, ~100,000 conservative members referenced) and now aims to broaden outreach beyond a single political constituency. Meanwhile, Energy Right (founder Skyler Zunk, team of five) is doing local clean-energy education in rural Virginia — promoting community solar, agrovoltaics (sheep grazing under panels), and addressing local concerns around land use and permitting, including the need to power growing energy demand from data centers in Northern Virginia.
• Apr 3, 2026

  Episode for April 3, 2026

  The Allegheny Front released a podcast episode on April 3, 2026 covering air pollution and lung cancer alongside related environmental stories.

  • The episode focuses on a February report finding energy generated in Pennsylvania will power data centers both in-state and out-of-state, a new study attempting to separate smoking from lung cancer risk (with surprising results in areas with poor air quality), and includes an interview with the author of a birding guide.
    • Date: April 3, 2026
    • Duration: 29:49
    • Format/location: Podcast episode available online (audio mp3 and streaming platforms)
    • Agenda/subject: air pollution & lung cancer study; data center energy demand impacts on Pennsylvania; steel industry climate ranking; earlier allergy season; wildlife/fish kill report; birding guide interview
  • The episode also reports that Nippon Steel (U.S. Steel’s new owner) scored near the bottom in a climate ranking due to increased coal usage and a recent reinvestment in coal at a U.S. Steel plant in Indiana; other segments note a fish kill in Centre County (Pine Creek) documenting dead fish, crayfish, and frogs, and that allergy season is starting earlier due to changing temperature and precipitation patterns.
• Apr 2, 2026

  Panel discusses how energy demand from data centers nationwide will impact Pennsylvania

  The Clean Energy Group, Clean Air Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania released a report titled “The High Cost of AI: How Data Centers are Reshaping Pennsylvania’s Energy Landscape.”

  • Main finding: The report finds Pennsylvania will export electricity to surrounding PJM states to meet growing data center demand, with PJM relying on Pennsylvania to supply energy to high-demand importers like Virginia (35% of hyperscale data centers); it projects an additional 24 to 44 million metric tons of CO2 by the end of the decade and an estimated $20 billion public health burden in 2028.
  • Background & local context: The report was discussed at a University of Scranton event with local officials and residents; Archbald has six proposed data center campuses under local opposition, the groups support Sen. Katie Muth’s three-year moratorium (co-sponsored by Sen. Rosemary Brown), and utilities such as PPL Electric Utilities perform system upgrade studies that can socialize costs across ratepayers.
• Apr 2, 2026

  States Race to Win the Tech Economy in 2026 State of the State Addresses

  Broadband and technology were prioritized across nearly 30 governors’ 2026 State of the State addresses.

  • Main announcement: Governors across the country emphasized broadband expansion, AI policy and workforce development, and data center/energy planning; specific claims include Maine reporting “more than a quarter million homes and businesses” served, Wisconsin reporting 410,000 businesses and households with new or improved internet, Kansas connecting 117,000 households and businesses, and the Virgin Islands reporting a territory-wide internet program with over 50,000 users per month. The addresses also included concrete funding and contract figures: Maryland announced a $4 million AI workforce training investment, and South Dakota cited a $35 million Department of Defense contract for warhead production.
  • Background and other details: Governors described partnerships and policy actions: Maryland cited collaborations with Bloomberg Philanthropies, Microsoft, a South Korean biotech firm, and AstraZeneca for AI work; Iowa cited partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Google Public Sector to modernize state systems; several governors (Indiana, New York, Nebraska) debated who should shoulder data center energy costs or accelerate permitting; some states (New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina) signaled nuclear energy pathways and DOE engagement. Implementation timelines are those stated in addresses (2026) and referenced ongoing programs and contracts (e.g., South Dakota’s $35 million DoD contract already awarded).
• Mar 31, 2026

  SoftBank’s 10 GW Ohio Campus Marks a Turning Point for AI Infrastructure

  The U.S. Department of Energy and SB Energy (SoftBank-affiliated) announced a plan to develop a proposed 10-gigawatt AI data center campus at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio, paired with up to 10 GW of new power generation and substantial transmission investments.

  • Main announcement: SB Energy (SoftBank-affiliated) will pair a 10 GW compute campus with up to 10 GW of new power generation (including 9.2 GW natural gas) and is partnering with AEP Ohio on $4.2 billion in transmission investments; the DOE is leasing federal land for the PORTS Technology Campus and held a groundbreaking on March 20, 2026 in Piketon, Ohio. The project filings include an initial 800 MW interconnection phase with an operational target of 2028.
  • Background and details: The financing structure includes $33.3 billion in Japanese-backed funding tied to the natural gas component (linked to the U.S.-Japan Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement); the plan calls for 765-kV transmission lines, four substations, interstate gas pipeline development, and long-lead high-voltage equipment already secured. The project is presented as a federal land reuse model and potential policy template for allocating transmission costs to developers rather than ratepayers.