Ohio's data center boom: What it's like inside Fairlawn Gig
This video takes viewers inside Fairlawn Gig's small-scale data center in Fairlawn, Ohio, which supports local internet service and business data storage. It contrasts this with the much larger data centers fueling a statewide debate over utility bills and community impact. State Senator Casey Weinstein notes constituent concerns about rising utility costs linked to large data center growth.
The video provides a look inside a smaller data center operated by Fairlawn Gig in Fairlawn, Ohio, contrasting it with the massive data center campuses that are a subject of growing debate across the state. The segment aims to show what a data center actually looks like internally.
Ernie Staten, Director of Public Services for the City of Fairlawn, explains that Fairlawn Gig began in 2015 as a fiber-to-the-home project, now serving approximately 74% of Fairlawn's residents and businesses. Their data center, described as the "head end" for their utility, offers space for local businesses to securely store data, utilizing 9 of its 26 cabinets. Staten emphasizes that this operation is in-house, on a utility scale, and distinct from the "hyperscalers" that occupy hundreds of thousands of square feet.
While the Fairlawn facility serves a single community with local internet service and data storage, the video highlights that the large-scale data centers driving statewide debate operate differently, serving entire regions or global systems with significantly higher energy demands. State Senator Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) mentions hearing constituent concerns regarding rising utility bills, questioning the role of large data center growth in these increases. This concern over energy consumption and community impact is central to the ongoing debate across Ohio.