Local Politics: The small-time data center resistance
Organizers of a statewide petition to ban data centers in Ohio, ConserveOhio, will not submit it this year, shifting focus to local initiatives. Communities like Sunbury and Grove City have enacted moratoriums, while Sunbury residents are pursuing a petition to ban large-scale data centers. The Hilliard City Council is engaged in a legal battle with Amazon and AEP Ohio over a fuel cell installation at an existing data center.
ConserveOhio, an organization advocating for a statewide ban on data centers in Ohio, has announced it will not submit its petition to the ballot this year. The group, which needed 413,000 signatures by July 1 for a 2026 general election vote, now aims for the 2027 election, citing a need to grow "the right way." This decision comes amidst growing public criticism of data centers for their impact on electric bills, water quality, air pollution, and land use across Ohio, which currently hosts over 200 data centers, with 139 in Columbus.
In response to the delay, ConserveOhio volunteers and other local communities have intensified "small-scale data center petitions" and actions. Andrew Gula, a ConserveOhio committee member, highlighted efforts to secure local charters, such as one in Sunbury, Delaware County, to prohibit data centers within city limits. The Sunbury City Council already passed a moratorium on a specific Amazon Web Services data center in April, and residents are actively collecting signatures for a petition to let voters decide on a ban. Grove City also recently enacted a data center moratorium.
Separately, the Hilliard City Council in Franklin County is involved in a legal dispute with Amazon and AEP Ohio concerning the installation of fuel cells at an existing Amazon data center, which would become the world's second-largest fuel cell installation. ConserveOhio, having collected over 83,000 signatures to date, hopes that continued signature gathering for the statewide initiative will deter future data center development by creating uncertainty about their legality.