Feds announce a $33.3B data center plan, as Hilliard residents express concerns about air pollution

Two federal agencies said that a recently proposed $33.3 billion gas plant in southern Ohio will lead to the construction of a data center, which has been controversial as of late, including one such center in Hilliard, albeit for different reasons.

Both the gas plant and data center will be constructed on U.S. Department of Energy land in Piketon, where the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant was located, with SB Energy, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Softbank Group, leading the project, according to the Statehouse News Bureau.

SB Energy will invest $10 billion in the data center, which, according to the news source, will create 4,000 construction jobs and 300 to 400 operational jobs. This could grow to 37,500 people being employed at the data center, 35,000 construction workers and 2,500 operational staff, an official told the Bureau.

U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh told the news outlet that construction will begin this year and the data center will become operational in two years.

“It’s just going to be a generational change for this area, and we’ve struggled economically, there’s no doubt about that,” state Sen. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro, told the Bureau last week, adding that he is not worried about where Ohio will get workers because he “would much rather need the workers and have the jobs than not have the jobs.”

“I haven’t heard anything negative from the community,” Walsh told the news outlet. “Over the last 20 years, they’ve lost so many jobs, and now they see this as a way to really grow the future for themselves and their families.”

Meanwhile, residents of Hilliard criticized the building of any data centers in their community, voicing their concerns last week during a public meeting held by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency about a proposed Amazon data center.

“The people who live there kind of feel like they’re in an experiment that they don’t want to be in, that they had no say over,” Hilliard resident Cathy Cowan Becker told NBC 4. “They had no say over the placement of this.”

The meeting was held to gather feedback on a draft air emissions permit that would allow the facility along Scioto Darby Creek Road to operate up to 158 emergency generators, with many residents questioning whether the permit is sufficient enough to protect the community from the air pollution, according to the news source.

“This facility received permits to allow it to construct, and now it’s constructed,” Ohio EPA’s Chief of Division of Air Pollution Control Bob Hodanbosi told NBC 4. “It’s in operation, and it’s considered a major source. So, it needs to get what’s called a title five permit from major sources.”

Many residents expressed their worries that the data center’s emissions could negatively affect their neighborhoods and called for independent monitoring to verify the company’s pollution projections, according to the news source.

“The concerns are that my children are going to be breathing in air that has a negative impact on their health,” Hilliard resident Trevor Anderson told NBC 4. “There’s a playground right nearby where my kids play all the time, and it’s right next to the data center, right next to where these generators are going to be.”

In its statement to NBC 4, an Amazon spokesperson said that the company “has operated data centers in Ohio for more than a decade, supporting essential services people rely on every day, including hospitals, emergency responders, and schools,” and that they “remain committed to continuing to meet all environmental standards.”

“We will continue working closely with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and local stakeholders as we move through the permitting process, and we remain focused on being a good neighbor in the communities where we operate,” the spokesperson said.