Ohio Data Center Intel

Recent Ohio data center news

• Jan 14, 2026

  A-Gas Achieves Major Data Center Environmental Milestone

  A-Gas has announced the completion of a major on-site refrigerant recovery project for a global technology provider.

  • Project details: A-Gas recovered over 73,000 lbs of R410A across five buildings and 222 cooling units being decommissioned, preventing an estimated 70,226 tons CO2e from entering the atmosphere; the technology provider received direct economic benefit via the A-Gas buyback program.
  • Implementation and background: The operation used A-Gas Rapid Recovery, available 24/7, claimed to deliver results up to 10 times faster than traditional methods, provided complete EPA documentation and refrigerant analysis, and emphasized regulatory compliance and safety during extreme summer conditions.
• Jan 14, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - January 13, 2026

  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) announced its first Congressional briefing of the year, a wildfire solutions briefing on Tuesday, January 27, hosted with the Federation of American Scientists.

  • Main announcement: EESI will host a Congressional briefing titled “Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy” on Tuesday, January 27, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (reception to follow) at Russell Senate Office Building, Room SR-385 and online; RSVP available on the EESI briefing page and a reception follows the briefing.
  • Background & related actions: The newsletter summarizes recent federal actions signed by the President including MAPWaters (P.L. 119-62) improving recreational waterway data collection, Save Our Seas 2.0 (P.L. 119-65) reauthorizing EPA marine debris programs, Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization (P.L. 119-67) for USGS research funding, and La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act (P.L. 119-68) (expected to create more than 700 jobs and provide enough solar and battery capacity to power about 75,000 homes); it also notes wildfire costs of $424 billion annually and highlights EESI coverage on data center water use (cited by multiple media outlets).
• Jan 14, 2026

  Emerging Data Center Markets: Key Locations to Watch in 2026

  Cushman & Wakefield reports that power and land constraints in major U.S. data center hubs are driving operators to consider secondary and tertiary markets.

  • Main announcement: Cushman & Wakefield finds power and land constraints in primary hubs (Northern Virginia, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland/Eastern Oregon) are shifting site selection toward secondary/tertiary markets; highlights include OpenAI’s Stargate (~$100 billion) and Vantage Frontier (~$25+ billion) as large upcoming projects.
  • Details/background: Regions such as Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Central Washington, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are offering economic incentives, faster approvals, and flexible regulatory frameworks; Central Washington offers low-cost hydro power enabling 100% renewable operation but is also facing power constraints.
• Jan 14, 2026

  Vistra to Bolster Gas-Fired Fleet by 5.5 GW With $4B Cogentrix Acquisition

  Vistra Corp. has executed definitive agreements to acquire Cogentrix Energy from funds managed by Quantum Capital Group in a $4 billion transaction announced Jan. 5, 2026, adding 10 natural gas plants (5,496 MW) across PJM, ISO New England, and ERCOT.

  • Main announcement & deal specifics: Vistra will acquire 100% ownership of the Cogentrix portfolio for $4 billion, adding 5,496 MW of modern natural gas capacity (10 plants) and increasing Vistra’s total generation footprint toward ~50 GW; the transaction is subject to FERC, DOJ (HSR), and state regulatory approvals and is expected to close mid-to-late 2026. The deal includes acquiring the remaining 25% interest in the Patriot and Hamilton-Liberty plants and excludes Cogentrix’s Cedar Bayou 4 (550 MW), which Cogentrix will retain.
  • Background, financing, and timing context: The acquisition follows Vistra’s October 2025 purchase of Lotus Infrastructure gas assets for $1.9 billion (2,600 MW) and is supported by capital markets actions including $2.25 billion in senior secured notes (Jan 2026) and a prior $2 billion secured notes issuance (Oct 2025); Vistra expects mid-single-digit accretion in 2027 and high-single-digit average accretion (2027–2029) to Ongoing Operations Adjusted Free Cash Flow before Growth per share. Regulatory reviews (notably FERC Section 203) will examine competitive impacts in PJM and ISO-NE.
• Jan 13, 2026

  Microsoft's Brad Smith Pushes Big Tech to 'Pay Our Way' for AI Data Centers

  Microsoft is urging that the tech industry — not taxpayers — should pay the full costs for electricity, transmission and grid upgrades needed to support large AI data centers, as promoted by Microsoft president Brad Smith in meetings with federal lawmakers.

  • Main action: Microsoft (Brad Smith) is pushing a plan for industry-funded grid and transmission upgrades, proposing a rate tariff and saying the company will help pay additional costs in states like Wisconsin; Microsoft also referenced a 150-megawatt solar farm and reiterated its carbon-negative by 2030 commitment.
  • Background and details: Local opposition cites higher electricity prices, heavy water use, and land/quality-of-life concerns; examples include a multibillion-dollar Amazon data center in Hobart, Indiana with two $5 million permit payments and $175 million in milestone payments over three years, and regional rate impacts in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic grid. The article is an edited AP interview (Matt O’Brien and Marc Levy).
• Jan 13, 2026

  Meta establishes Meta Compute to lead AI infrastructure buildout

  Meta has launched Meta Compute to centralize responsibility for building and operating data centers and networks under a single leadership structure.

  • Main announcement: Meta announced Meta Compute, co-led by Santosh Janardhan and Daniel Gross, to unify data center and network oversight; the company says it is planning to build tens of gigawatts this decade, and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time, and will coordinate with Dina Powell McCormick on partnering with governments and sovereigns to build, deploy, invest in, and finance Meta’s infrastructure.
  • Background and details: The announcement follows landmark agreements with Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo to support access to up to 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear energy for Meta’s Ohio and Pennsylvania data center clusters; analysts highlight pressure on networking and optical supply chains (mentions of 51 Tbps switches, Disaggregated Scheduled Fabric, and demand for faster fiber) and the need to integrate power and networking in facility design.
• Jan 12, 2026

  Data center news: Northville, Springfield Township pass data center moratoriums

  Multiple Michigan municipalities, Oakland University, Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton announced actions related to data center development, local moratoria, and changes to utility and permitting rules.

  • Main announcement / actions:

    • Oakland University is partnering with Ohio-based Fairmount Properties to develop a 26-megawatt “edge” data center on Parking Lot 35 adjacent to a DTE substation; a feasibility study (environmental, utilities, market) will precede a business plan to OU’s board in spring or summer 2026.
    • Microsoft disclosed it is pursuing a potential $1 billion data center on 240 acres in Lowell Township (Covenant Business Park) and requested a pause in rezoning to engage the community; Microsoft now has nearly 900 acres in the Grand Rapids area across multiple proposed sites.

  • Regulatory, local-government, and federal actions / background:

    • Several Michigan localities enacted or proposed moratoria to study data center zoning and impacts: Northville (12-month moratorium), Springfield Township (180 days), Saline (proposed 12-month vote), Saginaw (proposed six-month), Bay City (prepare local regulations); Allen Park postponed a decision on a proposed 26-MW center.
    • U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton introduced the DATA Act of 2026 to exempt fully off-grid power suppliers by creating “consumer-regulated electric utilities”; the Department of Defense solicited bids for private AI data centers on unused military land (Jan. 22 proposal deadline; Fort Hood, Fort Bragg, Fort Bliss, Dugway Proving Ground listed with acreages and varying water risk).
• Jan 12, 2026

  Meta reaches agreement to buy electricity from Beaver Valley nuclear plant to fuel AI data centers

  Meta has reached agreements to purchase nuclear-generated electricity from multiple developers to power its AI operations.

  • Main announcement: Meta agreed with Vistra to buy 2,600 megawatts of electricity from three nuclear plants (including Beaver Valley, Perry, and Davis-Besse) over a 20-year period, which also includes 433 megawatts of increased generation; the Vistra agreement would extend each plant’s license by 20 years and Vistra says the project will take nine years to build and provide ~3,000 project-related jobs.
  • Additional deals and timelines: Meta also signed separate agreements to buy 1,200 megawatts by 2034 from an Oklo project in Pike County, Ohio, and 690 megawatts from TerraPower (site to be identified “in the coming months”); background: the three Vistra plants had been previously slated to close, and Microsoft has entered a similar nuclear restart agreement for Three Mile Island.
• Jan 12, 2026

  Meta Unveils Series of Major Nuclear Energy Deals to Power U.S. Data Centers, Support Clean Energy Goals

  Meta announced that it has signed a series of large-scale nuclear power agreements to support its expanding U.S. data center energy needs and clean energy goals.

  • Main announcement: Meta has committed to agreements supporting up to 6.6 GW of nuclear energy by 2035, including: TerraPower funding for two Natrium plants (345 MW baseload each, boostable to 500 MW for >5 hours, with rights to energy from up to six additional units; additional units anticipated as early as 2032); Oklo funding to advance a 1.2 GW power campus in Pike County, Ohio (Phase 1 targeted online as early as 2030, full incremental capacity by 2034); Vistra 20-year PPAs for more than 2.6 GW of zero-carbon energy (including 2,176 MW of operating generation and 433 MW of uprates) with Meta purchases beginning late 2026 and additional capacity added through 2034; and a prior June 2025 Constellation Energy agreement extending a plant life to supply 1.1 GW for 20 years.
  • Background and implementation details: The deals resulted from a U.S.-focused nuclear RFP launched by Meta in late 2024; TerraPower’s Natrium design integrates a sodium fast reactor with molten salt energy storage; Oklo is working with the U.S. Department of Energy and National Laboratories on advanced fuel recycling and has purchased over 200 acres in Pike County; Vistra’s agreements mark the largest nuclear uprates supported by a corporate customer in the U.S. to date. Implementation timelines are explicit: Constellation deal announced June 2025; Vistra purchases begin late 2026 with capacity additions through 2034; TerraPower additional units as early as 2032; Oklo Phase 1 as early as 2030 and full campus by 2034.
• Jan 10, 2026

  Meta strikes nuclear power deals to meet rising AI energy demand

  Meta has signed agreements with TerraPower, Oklo and Vistra to secure more than 6.5 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity for its US operations.

  • Main announcement & project details: Meta will support development and long-term purchases across advanced reactors and operating plants: TerraPower — agreement to support up to eight Natrium reactor + storage plants providing up to 2.8 GW baseload (integrated storage enabling up to 4 GW); first units expected as early as 2032, each Natrium reactor produces 345 MW baseload and can ramp to 500 MW for more than five hours. Oklo — agreement to advance a 1.2 GW nuclear campus in Pike County, Ohio on a 206-acre former DOE site; pre-construction begins 2026, first phase targeted ~2030, full 1.2 GW by 2034; Meta may prepay for power and provide funding to secure fuel and improve project certainty. Vistra — signed 20-year PPAs with Meta for more than 2,600 MW from Perry, Davis-Besse (Ohio) and Beaver Valley (Pennsylvania), comprising 2,176 MW existing generation plus 433 MW from planned uprates; Meta purchases expected to begin late 2026 with additional capacity through 2034.

  • Background and implementation details: The package combines advanced reactor development (TerraPower Natrium and Oklo Aurora/plant campus) with long-term PPAs from operating nuclear plants; agreements include funding, prepayment, and early procurement to improve project certainty, and give Vistra the certainty to plan licence extensions and uprates for the three plants.