Setting the Record Straight on Data Centers in Ohio
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
The public conversation around data centers in Ohio has been shaped by a set of claims—about water, electricity bills, taxes, school funding, and noise—that are repeated often but rarely examined closely. Today, the Ohio Business Roundtable is releasing "Data Centers in Ohio: Fact vs. Fiction" to do exactly that.
The white paper pairs the eight most common criticisms with the underlying data, drawn from Ohio operating experience in communities like New Albany and Marysville, peer-reviewed research, and government sources.
What the evidence shows: data centers pay taxes from day one on land that cannot be abated, generate school district revenue, are subject to enforceable energy tariffs that protect ratepayers, and use far less water than widely cited figures suggest.
More Than an Economic Debate
The concerns Ohioans have raised about data centers deserve real answers—and our white paper provides them. But the conversation cannot stop there.
Data centers are also the infrastructure that powers the digital tools most of us rely on every day: medical records, emergency communications, financial services, remote work, and the AI systems increasingly embedded in healthcare, public safety, and daily life. When that infrastructure is built here, in Ohio, it is accountable to Ohio communities. When it is built elsewhere, it isn't.
Pat Tiberi, President & CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, framed it this way:
"Artificial intelligence is not a distant concept—it is here, and it is rapidly reshaping industries, economies, and national security strategies. Yes, data centers require energy, infrastructure, and thoughtful policy, but they also bring jobs, investment, and long-term competitiveness. That gravitational pull—where one investment attracts the next—is how regions build lasting economic strength. If we miss the first wave, we risk missing the ones that will certainly follow."
The infrastructure, the investment, and the momentum are already here. The only question now is how much of the future Ohio is ready to claim.
