Data Centers and Nuclear Plants Bloom in Piketon
Piketon, Ohio, a community with high cancer rates from past uranium enrichment, is set to host what is planned to be the world's largest data center by 2032, powered by new nuclear reactors. This development is drawing strong opposition from residents concerned about health, environmental impacts, and water usage, mirroring similar fights in Adams County and across Ohio. A significant legal victory in Trenton, Ohio, allows residents to vote on banning new data centers.
Piketon, Ohio, a community historically impacted by nearly 50 years of U.S. government uranium enrichment and facing high cancer rates, is at the center of a new nuclear and data center development. A new uranium plant opened in 2023 at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) site, with enriched uranium slated to power proposed nuclear reactors. These reactors will, in turn, supply an 8-gigawatt data center, planned to be the world's largest when it opens in 2032.
The massive facility, partially backed by Nvidia and intended for lease by OpenAI for AI computing and cloud storage, will require electricity equivalent to six million homes annually. Lifelong Piketon resident Gina Doyle, founder of "Don't Dump On Us" and "Scioto Valley Cancer Support Group," expresses profound concern over the dangerous combination of nuclear activity and data center power and water demands in her drought-prone region.
Opposition extends to Adams County, where advocacy group Conserve Ohio, founded by Jessica Adams Baker and including members like Emily Harper, is gathering signatures for a state constitutional amendment to ban data centers consuming over 25 megawatts. Harper highlights concerns about Adams County's unzoned land, rare wildlife, and the contamination of the Scioto River, which supplies drinking water. Amazon is also planning a data center near the old Stuart nuclear site in Adams County, facing community resistance.
Marshall University film student Shelby Blair is documenting the surge in data center construction across Ohio, encountering threats against activists and a bipartisan consensus against unchecked development due to lack of regulation and perceived political corruption. Despite opposition from politicians, residents of Trenton, Ohio, recently achieved a victory as the Ohio Supreme Court certified their petition, allowing them to vote on banning new data center construction.