Ohio Data Center Intel

Recent Ohio data center news

• Jan 28, 2026

  Comment on Where Ohio’s front-runners for governor stand on ag, energy and the environment by Yolanda Runte

  Ohio Corn & Wheat and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, while front-runners Vivek Ramaswamy, Amy Acton and Casey Putsch outlined positions on agriculture, energy and environment ahead of the May 5 primary.

  • Endorsements & campaign commitments: Ohio Corn & Wheat (OCW) and Ohio Cattlemen’s Association endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy (OCW endorsement announced July/August 2025; OCA endorsement in November 2025). Candidates committed to continuing or building on H2Ohio, addressing water quality, supporting or rethinking biofuels, proposing energy cost reforms (PUCO oversight, consumer protections, PJM reform) and raising concerns about data centers and their grid/tax impacts.
  • Background & concrete details:H2Ohio had 2.5 million acres enrolled and $270 million invested before the program was defunded by 40% in the 2025 biennial budget; the Republican primary is set for Tuesday, May 5, 2026. The article documents candidate positions on E15/biofuel policymaking (federal debate delayed until a February commission) and specific utility/transmission concerns tied to data centers.
• Jan 27, 2026

  Meta Inks $6B Fiber Optic Deal with Corning for US Data Centers

  Meta Platforms has announced a $6 billion multi-year fiber-optic supply agreement with Corning to accelerate expansion of its US data center infrastructure.

  • Main announcement: Meta has agreed a $6 billion multi-year supply deal with Corning for optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions; Corning will ramp up manufacturing at its Hickory, North Carolina facility where Meta will serve as an anchor customer, and Corning said it will add up to 20% more workers in North Carolina (Hickory and Durham). The companies noted Meta has agreed to pay for optical fiber through 2030.
  • Background and details: Meta currently has 26 data centers planned or under construction in the US as part of its $600 billion AI strategy; the deal will supply fiber for major projects including the 1 GW Prometheus (New Albany, Ohio) and 5 GW Hyperion (Richland Parish, Louisiana) sites. Corning reported $1.65 billion in third-quarter optical communications revenue (up 33%) and said enterprise optical communications sales rose 58%.
• Jan 26, 2026

  Laying the Foundation for Low-Emission Cement and Concrete

  Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act (S.1067) in March 2025; the House reintroduced the IMPACT Act (H.R.1534) to establish a temporary low-emission cement, concrete, and asphalt program at the U.S. Department of Energy.

  • Main announcement/action: The Senate introduced S.1067 (Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act) in March 2025 to accelerate the use of low-emission concrete and asphalt; the House reintroduced H.R.1534 (IMPACT Act) to create a temporary low-emission cement, concrete, and asphalt program at the U.S. Department of Energy (legislative actions introduced/reintroduced in 2025).
  • Background & other details:Market valuation: global green concrete market $39 billion (2024) projected to reach $102 billion (2032); targets to reduce clinker-to-cement ratio include the American Cement Association moving from 0.88 to 0.75 by 2050 and the GCCA projecting a global drop from 0.76 to 0.52 by 2050. Research and industry actions cited: Northwestern University developed a carbon-negative cement from seawater, Qatar University found a concrete mix with treated wastewater + recycled aggregates + 20% fly ash reduced maintenance costs by 60% and life-cycle costs by 19%; tech company partnerships include AWS using low-carbon concrete from American Rock Products for U.S. data centers and Meta partnering with CarbonBuilt.
• Jan 26, 2026

  How Hyperscale AI Is Remaking the Power Grid

  Industrial Info Resources (IIR) reported at PowerGen International that the US has approximately $2.4 trillion in AI data center development underway.

  • Key announcement: IIR presented at PowerGen International (Jan. 20-22, 2026) that the US accounts for about $2.4 trillion in AI data center development and that global announced and ongoing data center investment ≈ $3.2 trillion; IIR also reported roughly 296 GW of cumulative planned capacity in the US with more than 70 projects ≥ 1 GW and projected US electricity demand rising from ~23 GW (2023) to ~42 GW (today) and on target to surpass 90 GW by 2030.
  • Details and context: IIR outlined concentration by state (Texas ~$517 billion, Virginia ~$344 billion, Georgia ~$217 billion, Missouri ~$121 billion, Arizona ~$102 billion), noted month-over-month investment velocity (more than $100 billion announced per month over the past year; October 2025 > $350 billion), and described near-term procurement strategies including gas turbines (booked through end of decade), reciprocating engines, BESS, and partnerships on nuclear; timeline compression pressures require many projects to deliver generation and interconnection within 12–24 months.
• Jan 23, 2026

  Episode for January 23, 2026

  The Allegheny Front published a podcast episode summarizing multiple regional environmental issues on January 23, 2026.

  • Episode coverage: The podcast discusses a study of Eastern wildfire risk, residents’ concerns about fracking wastewater contaminating drinking water in an eastern Ohio town, the closure of Pittsburgh’s newspaper of record, and a Pennsylvania policy hearing where lawmakers and consumer advocates blamed new data centers for rising home energy prices.
  • Additional details: The episode also covers the Pennsylvania Game Commission considering moving the firearms deer season start to the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and researchers investigating removal of microplastics and PFAS from drinking water; it quotes the Pennsylvania consumer advocate saying “Data centers must pay their own way.”
    • Episode date: January 23, 2026
    • Episode duration: 29:24
• Jan 23, 2026

  Edged US Builds Waterless, High-Density AI Data Center Campuses at Scale

  Edged US has announced recent campus expansions and detailed technical and operational profiles for those campuses.

  • Main announcement: Edged US announced a second 72-MW building at its Chicago/Aurora campus (purpose-built for AI; first facility opened February 2025; second building planned for Q2 2027) and a 24-MW second building in Irving/Dallas (first Dallas facility opened January 2025; second building approved January 15, 2026 and expected to break ground in Q2 2026). The projects emphasize waterless, closed-loop cooling (ThermalWorks; marketed as WUE 0.00), rack-density support (Aurora >200 kW/rack liquid-to-chip; Irving air-cooled >120 kW/rack with liquid-to-chip up to 400 kW/rack), and a portfolio-wide design PUE ~1.15.
  • Background and implementation details: Edged is pursuing a campus-first, repeatable delivery model across U.S. metros (Atlanta, Chicago/Aurora, Columbus/New Albany, Des Moines/Ankeny, Kansas City, Phoenix/Mesa). The company relies on partnerships for electrical and backup generation (notably PowerSecure, subsidiary of Southern Company) and positions ThermalWorks as the technical foundation for waterless cooling; the announcements are presented as executed approvals and planned timelines rather than speculative projections.
• Jan 22, 2026

  Nokia Secures Altafiber Contract to Expand Fiber Networks in Ohio and Hawaii

  Altafiber has announced it will deploy Nokia’s 25 Gbps PON technology and associated IP routing and optical transport equipment to expand its fiber network across Ohio and Hawaii.

  • Deployment details: Altafiber will use Nokia’s 25 Gbps passive optical network (PON) technology plus 7750 Service Routers and optical transport equipment including the 1830 Photonic Service Switch and Photonic Service Interconnect to scale multi-gigabit services for residential and business customers across Ohio and Hawaii.
  • Background and timelines: Altafiber serves >300,000 customers with fiber passing over 1.1 million premises; Nokia’s Lightspan platform supports 10G, 25G, and 50G PON on the same fiber, and Hawaiian Telcom (Altafiber) aims to make Hawaii fully fiber-enabled by end of 2026.
• Jan 21, 2026

  Vertical integration improves capital efficiencies through scale, stability, goal alignment

  EQT Corp announced it achieved net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 for its upstream operations in 2024.

  • Operational and decarbonization actions: EQT reports net zero (Scope 1 & 2) in 2024, a 100% electric frac fleet, replacement of more than 8,000 natural gas pneumatic devices completed in under 18 months, and participation in nearly 15,000 aerial surveys over 20,500 square miles via the Appalachia Methane Initiative.
  • Integration, investments and synergies: After acquiring Equitrans EQT became a vertically integrated operator, actively developing ~1.5 million lateral feet/year, underwrote nearly $20 billion in deals over six years, realized $60 million in capital synergies this past year with $250 million anticipated over the next few years, and is an equity investor in Context Labs (working with KPMG) for carbon accounting and verification.
• Jan 21, 2026

  Can Trump’s coal comeback last? Experts say no

  The Department of Energy has issued emergency orders delaying retirements of multiple coal-fired power plants and the Trump administration has issued an April executive order promoting coal to meet rising electricity demand from AI data centers.

  • DOE emergency orders: Chris Wright has issued emergency orders delaying retirement of at least five of the 11 plants slated for closure, renewing them every 90 days; under these orders, plant operators can seek FERC approval to recover costs from customers, with examples such as the J.H. Campbell plant’s expenses being spread across millions of Midwest ratepayers.
  • Context & impacts: Analysts estimate keeping slated plants open through 2028 could cost ratepayers up to $6 billion, on top of a $6 billion increase in coal-fired generation costs from 2021–2024; roughly 25 gigawatts of aging coal capacity may continue operating to meet data center demand through 2030, while the EPA and Interior Department actions have eased pollution constraints and opened lands to mining.
• Jan 21, 2026

  The plan to build massive data center in Imperial County — without environmental review

  Sebastian Rucci’s company, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, is advancing a plan to build a nearly one-million-square-foot, $10 billion data center in Imperial County while seeking to avoid California’s environmental review process (CEQA).

  • Project scope & immediate action: The proposal is for a nearly 1 million-square-foot facility allegedly costing $10 billion, intended to power AI computing; developers claim the project can be designated a ministerial (CEQA-exempt) project and have pursued a lot merger to combine five parcels into a 75-acre site — the lot merger failed an initial Planning Commission vote (Dec. 18, 2025) and has been appealed to the Imperial County Board of Supervisors. The city of Imperial has filed a lawsuit alleging CEQA and local-law violations; the developer and county have asked the court to dismiss the suit, and the developer filed a separate federal lawsuit against the city.
  • Background & concrete details: The developer claims an agreement to purchase 6 million gallons/day of reclaimed water from El Centro and Imperial and says the data center would use ~750,000 gallons/day (1/8 of that total); IID officials warned the proposed power demand would be “a massive increase in overall electrical load” and said current infrastructure would not be sufficient without upgrades. State Sen. Steve Padilla introduced SB887 to require environmental review for new data centers and to clarify that data centers do not qualify for the “advanced manufacturing” exemption. The article documents the developer’s prior business/legal controversies and cites feasibility studies provided to IID.