The State of Ohio has provided over $2.5 billion in tax incentives to data centers since 2017. And it’s estimated that every $1 in tax incentives have generated about $2.10 in tax revenue. It means a lot considering the Columbus region ranks fourth in the world for operational capacity and second in the nation for hyperscale facilities run by cloud giants like Google, Amazon, and Meta. But what are Ohioans losing as data centers continue to expand in our state? The answer is a lot.
Firstly, data centers consume massive amounts of water. A typical data center uses billions of gallons of water to cool its hardware. Other states have seen it impact residents’ ability to access potable water and in some cases even any water at all. When considering the 2024 summer resulted in 95% of Ohio facing some form of drought, it raises questions about how these data centers may exacerbate future climate issues.
Ohioans are already feeling the effects of data centers straining their wallets. AI data centers can use as much electricity as 100,000 households and their expansion meant that in July, Ohioans saw their electricity bills increase an average of 10%-15%. Since data centers can be built in as little as 18 to 36 months, and power plants can take five to ten years, it is difficult to meet this skyrocketing demand. Furthermore, in 2024, homes and businesses in Ohio faced nearly $1.3 billion in additional costs from transmission projects needed to deliver power to data centers. The cost will only continue to rise as it’s expected that another spike in energy bills will occur next summer…