Nick Owens Leads Ohio Push to Ban AI Data Centers

A local attorney is leading a coordinated effort to stop new data centers from rising across Ohio.

Nick Owens, a lifelong Republican and lawyer in Mt. Orab, formed a volunteer group called Conserve Ohio. The network now operates in nearly all 88 counties in the state. It includes Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who want to limit the spread of hyperscale facilities.

This fall, the group is sponsoring ballot initiatives in 10 communities. These measures would change local charters to prohibit large data centers. This approach goes beyond the temporary pauses that hundreds of local governments have already adopted. Owens says the votes will determine if residents want these projects. The group is also collecting signatures for a state constitutional amendment to ban such facilities statewide by 2027.

Tech companies have moved into Ohio for over a decade, drawn by cheap land and tax breaks. The state has seen rapid growth in data centers. These projects bring tax revenue and construction jobs, but Owens argues the costs include noise, pollution, and the need for new power plants. He prefers development on former industrial sites, though he admits farmland is cheaper for builders.

The issue is influencing the midterms. Former Senator Sherrod Brown calls incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted the face of data centers because Husted welcomed tech firms as lieutenant governor. Husted argues that Brown once supported the industry. Husted also pushed a federal bill to make data centers pay for grid upgrades, which Senate Democrats blocked as weak. Statewide candidates have avoided backing a total moratorium.

Linda Moodie, an independent volunteer, hands out petitions at local events. She notes that people want a say when development hits close to home. Owens, who served as a Trump delegate two years ago, says high diesel prices and data center concerns have reduced Republican enthusiasm in his county. He calls President Trump's recent comments about opposing communities being backwards tone deaf.

Construction has not started on the 1,000-acre site near Mt. Orab. On a recent fall day, the only sound near the property was birdsong.