Ohio is building ten gas-fired power plants dedicated to AI data centers, plants that could emit 75 million tons of greenhouse gases a year if run at full capacity, according to a new Environmental Integrity Project report. The rush reflects surging electricity demand that developers say cleaner sources cannot meet fast enough.
Energy companies across Ohio are racing to build gas-fired power plants that will never send electricity to a single home. The ten plants, proposed or already under construction, serve one customer: data centers running artificial intelligence. Together they could emit 75 million tons of greenhouse gases each year at full capacity, the Environmental Integrity Project found.
Ohio is not alone. The report counted 74 gas plants tied to AI data centers proposed or under construction nationwide, with Texas leading at 32 projects, Ohio next at 10 and Pennsylvania at seven.
AI is straining the grid
The scale of the buildout tracks the power appetite of modern computing. Some of the newest AI data centers stretch across more than a million square feet, with thousands of servers drawing enough electricity to rival a small city. Researchers at BloombergNEF estimate that by 2035, data centers could use as much power as 100 million homes.
That demand is why developers keep reaching for natural gas. New drilling techniques unlocked huge reserves across Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia about two decades ago, and the sudden supply made gas cheaper and helped it overtake coal as a primary power source.
Emissions concentrate in a few counties
Six of Ohio's plants are planned for Licking County, home to the state's largest data center cluster near New Albany. But the biggest project sits in Pike County: the Portsmouth Powered Land Project would generate up to 9.2 gigawatts, the largest proposed data center power plant in the country.
That single plant could emit up to 53.4 million tons of greenhouse gases a year at maximum capacity — more than New York City emitted in 2024, according to the report.
Why not wait for cleaner power?
Timing drives the choice. PJM Interconnection, which operates the grid for Ohio and 12 other states, has warned that demand is growing faster than new plants are being built. PJM executive Asim Haque said the region will, according to Cleveland.com, "need a lot more supply."
Behind-the-meter gas plants can be built in two years, far faster than transmission lines or reactors. By contrast, the first small modular reactor proposed for Ohio is not expected to begin operating until 2030, assuming the technology and licensing stay on schedule.
Source: Cleveland.com
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