What to know about the proposed Amazon data center in Butler County, Ohio
An Amazon data center project in Trenton, Ohio, is facing significant opposition due to a proposed annexation of land from neighboring rural townships, Madison and St. Clair, for its development. Residents have raised concerns about traffic, stormwater runoff, and financial agreements. Additionally, Trenton residents will vote on a charter amendment to ban data center construction, a move that followed an Ohio Supreme Court ruling against the City Council's previous handling of the petition.
Trenton, Ohio, is at the center of a contentious debate surrounding two proposed data center campuses, one of which is for Amazon Web Services and would be Butler County's first hyperscale data center. These facilities are designed to use over 100 megawatts of power, equivalent to powering approximately 80,000 households.
The development faces an ongoing dispute over land annexation. Trenton seeks to annex around 600 acres from neighboring Madison and St. Clair townships to accommodate the Amazon data center, but both townships are actively resisting this move. A Madison Township trustee voiced resident concerns ranging from increased traffic and stormwater runoff to inadequate financial agreements. The Butler County Commissioners are scheduled to hold a hearing on September 15th to decide on the annexation, and under Ohio law, townships have no appeal recourse if the annexation is granted.
Adding another layer of complexity, Trenton residents will vote in November on a charter amendment to ban data center construction within city limits. This initiative gained momentum after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Trenton City Council had illegally disregarded procedure by failing to certify the petition for a public vote. The council subsequently took a last-minute vote on September 3rd to certify it.
However, the effectiveness of this potential ban could be impacted by the ongoing annexation attempt; if the land remains part of the townships, the city ban would not apply. Nick Owens, an attorney for Conserve Ohio, anticipates immediate legal challenges to the ban if it passes, suggesting that the courts may ultimately determine the future of data centers in Trenton.