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Ohio Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Ohio — updated daily.
Ohio · Construction & power moves · 2
full tracker →Land, power, and interconnection moves across Ohio — each traced to primary filings.
Recent Ohio data center news
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Climate Change Solutions - June 16, 2026
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) released new fact sheets on lithium and cobalt and announced its 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO (EXPO 2026).
- New EESI publications: EESI published fact sheets on Lithium and Cobalt, noting the U.S. relies on imports for >50% of lithium consumed and 76% of cobalt consumed; the newsletter links to a 2025 Critical Minerals Issue Brief for deeper analysis.
- Event and policy updates: EXPO 2026 is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (reception 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.) at the Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) and online; the newsletter also reports House action on the Agriculture Appropriations Act (H.R.8646) providing $22.5 billion to USDA through September 2027, and updates on geothermal permitting bills and the DOMINANCE Act to secure critical mineral supply chains.
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Episode for June 12, 2026
The Allegheny Front published a June 12, 2026 podcast episode covering local and regional environmental topics including balcony solar, a Ken Burns Thoreau documentary, and community events.
- Main coverage: The episode highlights Pennsylvania lawmakers considering legalization of “balcony solar” (small plug-in PV panels that can power a refrigerator or TV), features interviews about Ken Burns’ new Henry David Thoreau documentary (directors Erik and Chris Ewers), and notes the return of Frog Fest; episode date: June 12, 2026 and runtime 28:58.
- Additional factual details: The episode references ALCOSAN having spent $750 million of a $4.5 billion sewage-control program, mentions the Trump administration’s $700M package to the coal industry, notes Nippon Steel’s new investment in U.S. Steel’s Pittsburgh-area plants (no dollar amount given in the article), and records Republican candidate Stacy Garrity calling for a pause on data center development to allow local zoning action.
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The General Assembly Must Prioritize People Over Data Centers
Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) is calling on Virginia legislators to pause new data center approvals and end the sales tax exemption during the June budget negotiations.
- Main action: PEC urges the General Assembly and Governor Spanberger to end the annual sales tax exemption for data centers and pause approvals of new data center projects so the state can plan for 51 GW of approved data center demand; legislators reconvene June 18, with a June 30 budget deadline.
- Background and details: The email cites Dominion Energy’s agreement to supply 51 gigawatts, notes the tax break grew from $1.6 million in 2008 to nearly $2 billion today (~6% of Virginia’s annual revenue), references ~10 GW of operational IT load in Virginia, and points to recent pauses of tax credits in Ohio and Illinois as precedent.
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OpenAI weighs Nvidia-backed lease for 10 GW Ohio data center campus
OpenAI is reportedly in advanced talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus near Piketon, Ohio, with Nvidia potentially providing hardware and guaranteeing lease and developer financing; the lease would give OpenAI control of computing equipment under a 20-year term and the first phase is expected in 2028.
- Main announcement: OpenAI is negotiating to lease a 10-gigawatt campus in southern Ohio, control the compute equipment under a 20-year lease, begin payments when the site starts operating, and the first phase is expected in 2028; Nvidia may supply hardware and guarantee OpenAI’s lease obligations and the developer’s financing.
- Background and details: The campus buildout is reported to cost at least $500 billion at current chip/power/construction prices; the site aligns with a U.S. Department of Energy partnership where SB Energy (SoftBank Group) committed to build 10 GW of new generation (at least 9.2 GW natural gas) plus billions of dollars in transmission infrastructure; the negotiations are reported and remain unresolved on financing, permitting, and timelines.
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The AI Demand Dilemma: Utilities Confront Speculative Growth
Utilities across the US are rewriting tariffs, demanding financial guarantees, and altering transmission and procurement plans to avoid building infrastructure for speculative AI-related data center load requests.
- Main action: Utilities (notably AEP and Duke Energy) are tightening large-load rules and requiring financial commitments to move projects forward: AEP winnowed more than 30 GW of preliminary requests to ~13 GW for formal studies and 5.6 GW with signed Electric Service Agreements; AEP proposed requiring customers to commit to paying for 90% of requested capacity for a decade before the utility builds supporting infrastructure. These measures include specialized large-load tariffs, collateral/minimum-usage guarantees, and phased energization schedules to limit ratepayer exposure.
- Background and implementation details: Regulators and reliability bodies (NERC, ERCOT, FERC) are developing new categories and study frameworks (e.g., Computational Load Entity, batch study processes) and reliability guidance. Utilities are expanding financing and procurement: Duke extended a $10 billion master credit facility through 2031 and raised its five-year capital plan to $103 billion; AEP raised its five-year capital plan to $78 billion. Industry forecasts and planning estimates include Wood Mackenzie projecting the US data center electrical equipment market could grow to $65 billion by 2030, and Grid Strategies/ACEG estimating roughly 5,000 miles of new high-capacity transmission annually through 2035 (fewer than 1,000 miles built in 2024).
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Data center news: Detroit takes responsible approach to data centers, Benson says
Detroit City Councilmember Scott Benson announced the council-approved moratorium resolution to build a stronger regulatory framework for data center development in Detroit.
- Main announcement: The council-approved moratorium resolution created a stakeholder group (labor, business, sustainability advocates) to draft a zoning ordinance by end of 2026; Benson emphasized no increase in utility bills for residents and community-driven local control for development.
- Additional details/background:GOP state Sen. Jim Runestad introduced bills for a one-year statewide moratorium (may not receive a committee hearing); Erin Brockovich launched a national interactive tracking map for operational/under-construction/proposed facilities; Google granted $250,000 to the Huron River Watershed Council while planning a 1.5-million-square-foot Michigan data center that will draw 2–3.65 million gallons daily from the Great Lakes Water Authority.
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Dallas-Based Solidion Unveils Battery Tech for Orbiting AI Data Centers, the Moon, and Space
Dallas-based Solidion Technology has announced its Generation Extreme-Climate Battery (Gen-ECB) platform, a patented graphene-enabled battery designed to operate reliably from −80°C to +60°C for satellites, LEO AI data centers, crewed spacecraft, and lunar infrastructure.
- Gen-ECB platform uses graphene thermal conductivity and radiation resistance to actively regulate cell temperature, is rated to operate from −80°C to +60°C, has demonstrated >500 charge cycles at −40°C, and is positioned for use in satellites, LEO AI data centers, Starship surface operations, and NASA Artemis lunar infrastructure. Solidion states it is actively engaging with aerospace partners to integrate the technology into next-generation vehicles and infrastructure.
- Company background and program details: Solidion is headquartered in Dallas with pilot production in Dayton, Ohio, holds 385+ patents, and in the last year received three federal grants from the U.S. Army STTR Program, ARPA-E, and the Department of Energy to develop advanced battery technologies; the company began trading on Nasdaq in February 2024 and lists product variants including silicon-rich all-solid-state cells, anode-less lithium metal, and lithium-sulfur batteries (380+ Wh/kg) for aerospace, EV, and AI data center UPS applications.
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Replacing Diesel in AI-Scale Data Centers: Gas Engines, Turbines, and Steam
This article analyzes a sector-wide shift: data center operators are moving from diesel backup toward natural gas reciprocating engines, gas turbines, and packaged-boiler-fed steam turbines.
- Main action: Data centers and AI campuses are substituting diesel with on-site natural gas engines and turbines (and, where gas-turbine lead times are long, packaged boilers feeding steam turbines). Key, verifiable project details: 15 Wärtsilä Energy 18V50SG engines to supply nearly 300 MW at an Ohio project; Caterpillar received a 2 GW order from American Intelligence & Power Corp. for the Monarch Compute Campus (West Virginia) using Cat G3516 fast-response gas generator sets, with the 2,250-acre site potentially adding up to 6 GW more; mobile turbine units (e.g., Dynamis trailer-mounted 8–70 MW units; DT24 = 24 MW at 13.8 kV) and Certarus CNG logistics are being used as interim solutions, with Certarus supplying over 120 MW now and an additional 135 MW project slated to start in 2027.
- Background and implementation details:Gas-turbine lead times have lengthened (reports of delivery pushed to the end of the decade for some large models), prompting use of mobile turbines and packaged boilers; Rentech notes packaged boiler lead times of ~1 year and states packaged boilers can feed steam turbines at efficiencies comparable to gas turbines during peak hours. The Oracle/OpenAI Stargate Abilene project uses a mix of GE Vernova LM2500XPRESS and Solar Turbines Titan 350 units and could consume as much as 1.2 GW. Analyst Shen Wang (Omdia) projects ~60 GW of new AI data center power capacity per year by 2030. The article is an analytical sector overview rather than a single-entity press announcement.
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Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots
Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, posts the latest data center career opportunities on its jobs board.
- Main announcement: Data Center Frontier and Pkaza have published a roundup of active data center job openings covering roles such as Mechanical Applications Engineer, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Project Coordinator, Architect Design Manager, Electrical Project Manager, Commissioning Project Manager, Controls PM, Facility Operations Director, Project Executive (Owner’s Rep), and other critical-facilities positions across multiple U.S. locations (examples include Pittsburgh, PA; New Albany, OH; Ashburn, VA; Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Naperville, IL). Many roles note remote, traveling, or multiple-city availability and relocation options where specified.
- Background / details: This is a recurring/monthly jobs-posting series powered by Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting and the Data Center Frontier jobs board; listings emphasise employer needs for MEP/critical facilities design, commissioning, mission-critical power and cooling expertise, energy efficiency and LEED experience, and include travel/remote work options and multiple-site listings for several roles. No monetary values, contract amounts, or deal announcements are included.
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Climate Change Solutions - June 2, 2026
EESI announced its new analysis of bipartisanship on climate and energy in the 119th Congress and is hosting its 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO on June 24.
- Main announcement: EESI released a new analysis of bipartisanship on environmental, energy, and climate bills (analysis covers January–March 2026) and is convening EXPO 2026 on June 24, 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building (Gold Room and Foyer) and online (reception 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.); event is free and open to the public with RSVP available.
- Additional details / context: The newsletter summarizes congressional activity including the House Appropriations Committee advancing the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2027 (H.R.9022), multiple geothermal bills advanced by the House Committee on Natural Resources (e.g., Geo Act H.R.301, H.R.398, H.R.1077, H.R.1687, H.R.5617, H.R.5631, H.R.5638), introduction and markup of the BUILD America 250 Act (H.R.8870), and the Community Flood Resilience Act (H.R.9056) introduced by Reps. Andrew Garbarino and Gregory Meeks.