Columbus, OH – In a new policy brief, Don’t Pull the Plug: A Better Blueprint for Ohio’s Data Center Future, The Buckeye Institute argues against short-sighted blanket bans on data centers and instead calls on state and local governments to address the challenges data centers pose without unnecessarily discouraging—or killing—investment in this vital new industry.

“While Ohio policymakers should not dismiss legitimate public concerns about data centers, they should reject moratoriums on their construction,” said Aswin Prabhakar, an economic research analyst at The Buckeye Institute and the co-author of Don’t Pull the Plug. “A better approach would increase transparency, require data center developers to bear the risks and costs of their projects, ensure they pay all their local property taxes, and ensure government regulations address real problems while creating a fair process for project approval.”

The Buckeye Institute offers policymakers a better blueprint for Ohio’s approach to data center development.

• Data center development agreements should be transparent and publicly available so Ohioans can properly compare and assess a deal’s terms, benefits, and drawbacks. 
• Ensure data center developers pay all their local property taxes.
• State and local governments should require large electricity customers to pay for the infrastructure they need, so residents and small businesses do not bear those costs. 
• Water use should be managed through current permitting and environmental rules. 
• Land-use concerns should be addressed with local zoning ordinances and by streamlining and incentivizing brownfield redevelopment. 

The public and its civic leaders are right to voice concerns about the costs—fiscal and otherwise—created by data centers,” said Greg R. Lawson, a senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute and the co-author of Don’t Pull the Plug. “But those costs, as well as the benefits from lower property taxes, should be considered before abandoning a burgeoning technology that holds great promise for Ohio’s economy and is critical to the country’s national security.”

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