Ohio stands at a regulatory crossroads. This briefing is designed for merit shop contractors and construction professionals who need to understand how evolving Ohio data center regulations will impact their business opportunities, compliance requirements, and project planning. Four legislative and ballot tracks are converging right now, shaping billions in construction work, power costs, and project pipelines for ABC Ohio Valley members across the Ohio Valley over the next decade.

This briefing breaks down what you need to know and what to do this quarter.

Key Takeaways

• Ohio is projected to see up to $40 billion in data center investments by 2030, with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce projecting data centers could support roughly 130,000 jobs and add $20 billion to state GDP—putting the sector on par with automotive and agriculture, with construction driving most near-term employment.
• Contractors must track four regulatory tracks now: House Bill 646 (data center study commission), House Bill 706 (long-term power contracts and the AEP Ohio data center tariff), House Bill 710 (tax incentive and siting restrictions), and the Conserve Ohio constitutional amendment (25 MW cap that would block most hyperscale facilities).
• The planned expansion could create approximately 22,000 short-term jobs and 4,500 permanent jobs, generating $128 million in local revenue and $123 million in state revenue—numbers that flow directly through construction backlogs.
• AEP Ohio’s data center tariff and the Ohio Supreme Court challenge over cost-shifting will affect every commercial and industrial power customer in the entire state, including your shops, yards, and fabrication facilities.
• ABC Ohio Valley will use advocacy channels—the ABC Action App, ABC of Ohio, ABC Legislative Conference 2026 coverage, and the Merit Shop Scorecard—to ensure the 9-of-10 non-union workforce has a seat at the table as rules get written.

Ohio’s Data Center Boom: Why Regulation Suddenly Matters

Hyperscale data centers, artificial intelligence training loads, and cloud demand have turned Ohio into a national hotbed for data center projects. Ohio has more than 200 data centers, making it the fifth-highest state in the country, with most located in Central Ohio due to land availability and transmission access.

Google’s data centers in Ohio have powered $21.7 billion in economic activity in 2025, supporting nearly 650,000 Ohio businesses with tools and services. The Ohio Legislature is currently considering at least six bills related to data centers—this isn’t an incremental policy adjustment; it’s a foundational framework-building.

From ABC Ohio Valley’s perspective, most near-term jobs are in design, site work, vertical construction, transmission infrastructure, substations, and associated power generation facilities. Operations work (100–200 permanent employees per hyperscale site) represents the smaller but steady tail.

The policy fight isn’t “data centers yes or no.” It’s about who pays for grid upgrades, where new data centers can be sited, and how transparent developers must be with communities—county commissioners, township trustees, village mayors, and everyone with skin in the game.

The Four Regulatory Tracks Shaping Ohio Data Centers

Four parallel tracks are moving simultaneously through Columbus and across Ohio’s 88 counties:

1. House Bill 646 – Creates a statewide data center study commission
2. House Bill 706 – Codifies data center tariff rules and grid cost responsibilities
3. House Bill 710 – Restricts tax incentives and imposes siting requirements
4. Conserve Ohio Amendment – Constitutional ban on facilities over 25 MW

These tracks intersect with utility regulation through the public utilities commission, tax policy, land use controlled by local governments, and the Ohio ballot process. Data centers have become the number two voter issue in Ohio, according to Buckeye Institute fellow Greg Lawson—this is not just an energy story but a full business and political risk story for contractors.

ABC Ohio Valley must walk all four tracks in advocacy: supporting growth and responsible cost allocation while guarding against blunt bans and poorly designed restrictions.

House Bill 646: Data Center Study Commission and the Coming Hearings

HB 646, introduced by Republican Rep. Gary Click and unanimously passed by the Ohio House, creates a formal data center study commission—Ohio’s first deliberate attempt to design a regulatory framework for this industry.

The Ohio Data Center Study Commission was established to evaluate the long-term impacts of data centers on the electric grid and water resources. Key commission elements include:

• Public hearings around the state
• Testimony invited from industry experts, local officials, utilities, farm groups, environmental organizations, and any Ohioan who wants to appear
• Mandate to recommend a statewide policy structure

Topics on the analysis agenda include grid and power demand, data center tariff design, tax incentives, land use impacts, nondisclosure agreements, water use, and local versus state control.

For ABC Ohio Valley members: You need seats at the witness table. Prepare testimony explaining construction timelines, workforce pipelines, safety requirements, brownfield development capabilities, and the scale of infrastructure needed. Coordinate through ABC Ohio Valley so the merit shop construction voice aligns with the Ohio Chamber and Data Center Coalition.

House Bill 706: Power Contracts, AEP Ohio’s Data Center Tariff, and Who Pays for the Grid

HB 706, the bipartisan Thomas-Rader bill, codifies principles already embedded in AEP Ohio’s data center tariff. This directly affects how data centers, utilities, and other customers share costs.

Main HB 706 requirements include:

• Long-term service agreements for large data center customers
• Contractual obligations for data centers to pay for fixed “contract capacity” even if underused
• Data centers are responsible for the grid preparation and upgrade costs if projects are canceled
• Exit fees and explicit rules to prevent cost-shifting onto other customers

Large data centers in Ohio, typically those with a load of 25 MW or more, must pay for at least 85% of their contracted electricity capacity for up to 12 years, even if they use less. Operators of new data centers are required to provide collateral and agree to exit fees if a project is canceled after utility infrastructure work has begun.

The most significant regulatory hurdle for new or expanding data centers in Ohio is the Data Center Tariff approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). This PUCO-approved structure requires data centers to pay their full cost of interconnection.

The Ohio Supreme Court Fight

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group has challenged AEP Ohio’s tariff at the Ohio Supreme Court. Their argument: the tariff allows utilities to charge data center customers based on their electricity use, sets a dangerous cost-shift precedent, and may favor speculative data center projects at the expense of other industrial users.

AEP Ohio counters that the tariff protects consumers—specifically residential ratepayers and non-participating businesses—by requiring data centers to prepay and shoulder the risk of grid upgrades. Operators are increasingly required to cover 100% of the costs for transmission and distribution upgrades necessary to serve their facilities.

The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel is advocating that data centers be responsible for the energy they use and the infrastructure upgrades needed to power their facilities, as demand grows.

Regional Power Dynamics

Reference Asim Haque from PJM states that building more power generation gains leverage within PJM’s multi-state grid. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s negotiated utility price cap demonstrates what energy leverage looks like—real savings for businesses through political action on power costs.

House Bill 710: Tax Incentives, Siting Restrictions, and Local Pushback

HB 710 takes a more restrictive approach, targeting both tax policy and physical siting of facilities.

Core provisions include:

• Prohibition on new state-level tax incentives uniquely targeting data centers
• Tighter rules on local property tax abatement packages
• Possible zoning requirements from sensitive uses
• More robust environmental and water reporting obligations

Local codes in Ohio may require data centers to be built at least 750 feet from homes and 1,000 feet from specific natural resources. Operators participating in state tax exemption programs must meet investment and employment criteria as outlined in the Ohio Revised Code.

This bill reflects rising local frustration. Some Ohio communities, including Washington Township and Jerome Township, have enacted moratoriums on data centers due to concerns about land use and resource consumption.

Groups like the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel and the Ohio Environmental Council emphasize making sure data center tax and tariff structures do not increase electricity costs for ordinary Ohio consumers.

For contractors: HB 710 could slow or relocate projects, shifting development from greenfield farmland toward brownfields. Expect longer pre-development timelines but significant opportunities for remediation work.

Conserve Ohio’s Constitutional Amendment: 25 MW Cap and the Ballot Fight

Conserve Ohio’s proposed constitutional amendment would add Section 36a to the Ohio Constitution, prohibiting the construction of data centers with peak loads above 25 megawatts.

This threshold would freeze most large builds. The measure matters because:

• In 2023, data centers nationwide consumed 176 terawatt-hours of electricity—approximately 4% of all U.S. electricity usage—projected to increase to 9% by 2030
• Hyperscale data centers can use as much electricity as 100,000 homes
• A 25 MW cap excludes nearly every hyperscale project currently proposed

Ballot mechanics: backers must gather more than 413,000 valid signatures from at least 44 of 88 counties. A simple majority passes the amendment.

Stakes for Contractors

A successful amendment would cap the size of new data center jobs, dramatically reduce pipeline certainty for large data center projects and associated power infrastructure, and risk pushing development and investment over state lines into Kentucky, Indiana, or West Virginia.

ABC Ohio Valley will track signature verification, ballot board language, early polling, and campaign messages so firms can model 2027–2030 backlog scenarios under both “pass” and “fail” outcomes.

What’s Already on the Ground: Stark, Piketon, Hilliard, and Adams County

Ohio’s policy fight is driven by real projects, not hypotheticals.

Stark County (Panattoni Development) A 240 MW data center under construction, projected to become the county’s largest single taxpayer despite a 75% property tax abatement. The construction phase employs hundreds of craft professionals; long-term operations are estimated at roughly 100 high-wage jobs.

Piketon (Pike County) Proposed large data center campus co-located with what developers describe as the world’s largest natural gas plant, alongside plans for future small modular nuclear reactors. This illustrates how data center demand anchors multi-decade power infrastructure and creates significant opportunities in civil, transmission, and industrial sectors.

Hilliard City approval of a data center followed by a surprise adjacent natural gas power plant that moved through a roughly six-week state approval process—leaving local representatives without authority to block it. This case fuels arguments for stronger local control.

Adams County Shell companies are buying generational farmland through nondisclosure agreements, keeping landowners and local officials from knowing the end-user or facility type. Ohio Farm Bureau’s Evan Callicoat has cited the absence of a robust framework for agricultural impacts.

Each case illustrates a different regulatory gap: tax policy (Stark), energy siting (Piketon), state preemption (Hilliard), and transparency (Adams).

Transparency, Nondisclosure Agreements, and the Push for “Data Centers to Pay”

NDAs have become a focal point of public mistrust. New proposals in Ohio suggest prohibiting nondisclosure agreements that conceal data centers’ water usage and energy consumption.

Proposed legislation includes requirements for data centers to report their water consumption and prohibits them from including this information in nondisclosure agreements with local governments. Google’s New Albany data center uses over 405 million gallons of water annually—that’s roughly 33.75 million gallons per month.

Legislative proposals would prohibit NDAs for county commissioners, township trustees, village mayors, and legislators in data center negotiations, with civil penalties and automatic nullification.

Water-use regulations for data centers in Ohio are moving toward mandatory closed-loop cooling systems to protect local water sources. Data center operators may need to submit environmental impact studies and community mitigation plans before receiving building permits.

“Data centers to pay their own way” has become a bipartisan talking point feeding both HB 706 and HB 710.

Brownfields, Power Infrastructure, and New Work for Merit Shop Contractors

As greenfield farmland projects grow controversial, brownfield rehabilitation is rising on the agenda for policymakers, utilities, and companies.

Ohio’s brownfield grant program is funded at up to $1 million per county for 2026, targeting the cleanup of contaminated industrial properties with existing transmission access. Meta’s data center policy team has signaled openness to site selection for brownfield properties when cleanup timelines and existing power infrastructure align.

Construction Opportunity:

• Demolition and remediation contractors
• Environmental firms
• Heavy civil and sitework contractors
• Structural and MEP trades
• Utility contractors for substations, high-voltage lines, gas peaking plants

Emerging local ordinances emphasize the need for data centers to enhance energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact.

For a broader market context, see our coverage of the Construction Industry Outlook 2026.

Tri-State Exposure: PJM, West Virginia’s Ambitions, and Regional Labor Flows

ABC Ohio Valley members don’t operate in an Ohio silo. Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana contractors tie into the same labor pools, suppliers, and regional power market dynamics through PJM.

Ohio’s decisions on data center support, power plant siting, and tariff structures affect how much new generation is built within its borders versus shifted to neighboring states. West Virginia has stated ambitions to become the “battery of the mid-Atlantic”—a successful WV build-out could pull construction work away from Ohio if Ohio adopts restrictive rules.

Kentucky and Indiana face less direct ballot risk but will feel ripple effects of any Ohio constitutional amendment or tariff precedent. Standardize internal tracking of energy policy, permitting, and incentives across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia to enable preconstruction teams to pivot quickly.

Cost Exposure for Contractors as Power Customers

Contractors aren’t just data center builders—you’re also large electricity customers through fabrication shops, equipment yards, batch plants, and offices.

As of mid-2026, Ohio data center regulations are evolving to address rapid growth, with a focus on energy use, environmental impact, and local zoning. The tariff structure, if upheld and replicated, shapes future rate cases: potential insulation for small commercial users, differential treatment for high-load-factor industrial users, and new cost-allocation formulas affecting demand charges.

Data centers in Ohio must comply with various standards, including ISO 27001 for information security and PCI DSS for handling credit card data. Compliance with Ohio State Emergency Response Commission requirements and the Ohio Fire Code is necessary. Ohio data centers must adhere to NFPA 75 for fire protection and security frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53. NFPA 75 sets fire protection standards for information technology equipment, while NIST SP 800-53 provides a catalog of security and privacy controls for federal information systems. ISO 27001 and PCI DSS are international standards for information security and payment card data handling, respectively.

Review current electricity contracts. Track pending rate cases. Model how changes in demand charges, minimum billing, or exit fees could affect operating margins—particularly for energy-intensive fabrication or precast operations.

What Merit Shop Contractors Should Do This Quarter

ABC Ohio Valley is your advocacy and intelligence hub on Ohio data center regulations. The time to act is now.

Advocacy Actions:

• Use the ABC Action App to contact state representatives about HB 646, HB 706, and HB 710
• Coordinate talking points with ABC of Ohio
• Monitor the Ohio Merit Shop Scorecard for legislator positions and voting records
• Review our ABC Legislative Conference 2026 coverage for statehouse insights

Operational Moves:

• Position your firm for data center vertical construction (steel, concrete, envelope, MEP, fire/life safety)
• Invest in training for associated power infrastructure work: substations, high-voltage transmission, gas plants, SMR-ready sites
• Prequalify subcontractors and suppliers for large industrial work—especially high-voltage, heavy civil, deep foundations, and environmental remediation

Commission Engagement:

• Prepare concise testimony for the HB 646 study commission
• Focus on workforce development, schedule realism, safety performance, and brownfield capabilities
• Advocate for predictable, merit-based procurement

The regulatory framework governing Ohio’s data center economy for the next five years and beyond is being shaped right now. ABC Ohio Valley members who engage through association channels will have more visibility, more influence, and better-positioned backlogs than those watching from the sidelines.

FAQ

How do data center regulations affect smaller contractors who won’t build hyperscale campuses?

Even firms that never touch a 200 MW data center feel effects through local infrastructure work—road upgrades, utility extensions, and commercial development around campuses. Ohio has implemented unique utility regulations to manage growth and protect consumers, and these rules ripple across all commercial and industrial electricity rates. Local zoning, tax, and transparency rules shaped by these debates also apply to warehouses, light industrial parks, and other projects where smaller contractors compete.

What’s the realistic timeline for these bills and the Conserve Ohio amendment?

HB 646, 706, and 710 could move at different speeds through committee hearings and floor votes during the 2025–2026 legislative cycle. The data center study commission, once formed, has six months to deliver recommendations. The Conserve Ohio amendment must meet signature and certification deadlines roughly 125 days before the November 2026 election, with major public campaigning concentrated in mid-to-late 2026.

Will new rules force data centers to use only renewable energy?

None of the current headline bills imposes a pure renewable-only mandate. However, several proposals encourage cleaner energy portfolios, efficiency standards, and pairing data centers with renewable projects. Data centers discharging wastewater must adhere to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. Many large operators already pursue renewable PPAs and green branding when negotiating with PJM utilities and state development agencies.

How can my company get ahead on brownfield and industrial redevelopment work tied to data centers?

Build partnerships with environmental consultants, demolition contractors, and civil engineers who understand Ohio’s brownfield grant program. Monitor county-by-county brownfield awards. Track sites with robust existing transmission or substation access. Market those combined capabilities to developers and utilities as “shovel-ready” options for data center projects. Data center regulations in Ohio are undergoing rapid transformation—firms positioned for cleanup and reuse will capture work that shifts away from controversial greenfield sites.

Where can I follow ABC Ohio Valley’s ongoing coverage and alerts on these issues?

Visit ABC Ohio Valley’s advocacy hub, including detailed coverage of the ABC Legislative Conference 2026 for statehouse insights and the Construction Industry Outlook 2026 for broader market trends. Subscribe to ABC Ohio Valley policy alerts and ensure your government affairs or executive team is registered in the ABC Action App for rapid-response campaigns as key votes and hearings are scheduled.