A $6.9 billion Ohio data-centre project has sparked a one-year moratorium and ballot fight, here's why

In Ohio's Grove City, a proposed charter amendment has sparked a fight that doesn't seem to end. Residents and leaders are clashing on two sides, with one saying the amendment would protect the city and others saying it would destroy its economic prospects. What highlights the conflict is that it is a microcosm of a nationwide pushback against data centres and the region makes one of the most extreme local attempts to stop them, as per a report by Axios.The pushback is on a planned 300-acre project valued at approximately $6.9 billion. It would be a high-density computing/data-centre campus, designed to provide infrastructure for the rapidly expanding AI and cloud-computing industry. According to the developers, the site was deliberately selected since it exists next to a 345-kilovolt electrical substation, which they say makes the location suitable for a power-intensive facility. The project has raised concerns about electricity demand, water use, noise, backup generators, traffic, environmental impacts, and the long-term character of Grove City.The backlash was so intense that the city council enacted a one-year moratorium on all data centre projects, including the $6.9 billion p...