The frontrunners for Ohio governor both want to regulate data centers but have different plans for how to address growing concerns.It's one of the most controversial topics this year: data centers and their rapid expansion in Ohio. A developer wants to turn three Lorain County industrial buildings into a data center campus"I think we need a leader who just doesn't say, 'Hey, open it up, and it's a free-for-all,' or a leader who says that they ban it because 'I don't understand it,'" Republican nominee for governor Vivek Ramaswamy said in a town hall event in Strongsville last week.Ramaswamy explained that the state needs more data centers in order to store and process data. Previously, Ramaswamy said a total ban would be bad for the economy.
During recent events in Northeast Ohio over the past week, Ramaswamy laid out his plan for regulating the tech hubs."Attract and use and require the use of the best technology that requires only two restaurants' worth of water rather than 3% of the water supply of a city," he said after an attendee asked about data centers polluting water.He emphasized that he wanted to protect agriculture and the water supply. Ohio farmers fear new proposal would allow data centers to take propertyMuch of the criticism against data centers is mainly due to environmental and energy usage concerns, which Ramaswamy said he understands."If you're going to use a whole bunch of energy as a demand user, a hyperscaler, you should bring at least the energy that you're using," the Republican said.Democratic candidates Amy Acton and her running mate David Pepper went further into detail, taking a hard-line position on data center energy usage."Nobody should have to pay a dollar more on anything because the data centers moving in," Pepper said in an interview. "That should be an absolute baseline, red line of guardrail by the state of Ohio for any future developments."He said that energy costs, infrastructure, or any tax costs associated with the tech hubs should not fall to Ohioans.
On Thursday, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge for data centers to pay their own way. Is a data center a blessing or a curse? Depends on the community.On day one, Pepper said he and Acton will work to put in place major changes, addressing concerns over transparency and safety, as companies frequently ask public officials to sign non-disclosure agr…
Summary from source