Ohio township pushback

Trumbull County leaders issued a moratorium halting a data center plan, and several central Ohio communities around Columbus and New Albany have adopted their own pauses. Statewide, fights continue over electricity costs — including AEP Ohio's data center tariff — and Gov. Mike DeWine paused new data center tax exemption requests in May 2026. Update (Sept 2026): Ohio now has more than 125 active local data center moratoriums — the most of any state — and Columbus council members have proposed water- and energy-cost measures in lieu of a ban (Ohio Capital Journal). Update (Oct 2026): the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously on October 20 that Lordstown need not review a data center site plan filed days before its moratorium, and Cleveland extended its moratorium into January; more than a dozen Ohio communities vote on data center measures November 3 (WKBN · GovTech).