World’s largest AI datacenter project in Ohio stirs local hope and concern

The facility is designed to deliver 8 gigawatts of AI computing power and is scheduled to open in 2028. Under the arrangement, SB Energy, a unit of Japan’s SoftBank Group, will own and operate the site, while OpenAI has signed a 20-year lease to use the computing capacity. OpenAI will deploy Nvidia-built AI computing infrastructure at the datacenter.

To meet the project’s huge energy needs, a natural gas plant is expected to be built nearby, with infrastructure costs covered by a $33bn Japanese investment. The total project cost is estimated at $500bn.

Piketon’s mayor, Billy Spencer, who has served for 23 years, told The Guardian he feels “positive and skeptical” about the project. He noted there is no organized local opposition, and no residents have raised concerns at council meetings. “There’s not an organized opposition to it around here. There hasn’t been that much talk. No one’s come to council,” Spencer said.

The project has raised alarms among environmental groups. Part of the site sits on a decommissioned uranium enrichment facility known locally as the “A-Plant” that operated until 2001. For decades, Pike County residents have linked the plant to above-average cancer rates and other health problems. In 2019, a local middle school was shut down after radiation was recorded in the building.

Carol Kauffman, chief executive of the Ohio Environmental Council, said the natural gas plant would be one of the largest ever proposed, releasing huge volumes of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. She also cited upstream impacts from fracking wells and methane leakage from pipelines. Local leaders noted that up to two million gallons of water may be required for waste purposes during the construction phase, and residents have previously opposed a planned $650m waste disposal facility at the site.

The project is also tied to trade politics. In July 2025, the Japanese government agreed to invest $550bn in the United States in exchange for reduced tariffs on Japanese goods. Mayor Spencer pointed out that the investment could be at risk if a future administration ends the tariffs. “Anytime it’s a political football like that, it’s subject to change,” he said.

The datacenter boom has sparked backlash elsewhere. In July, New York became the first state to pause permits for hyperscale datacenters.

But in Pike County, where the poverty rate exceeds 19%, the promise of 35,000 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent operations jobs is hard to ignore. The project will cover about 640 acres, roughly three-quarters the size of Central Park. Spencer acknowledged the area cannot handle the expected influx of tens of thousands of workers. “Pike county certainly can’t handle that alone,” he said.