The Ground Rules

Start here

The seven gas plants, and who decides on them

Companies are building seven gas-fired power plants, 1,936 megawatts (MW) in all, to run data centers in and next to the New Albany International Business Park.1,7 Two still need state approval, and anyone can comment on them.2,3

Last checked against sources on .

Why data centers are building their own plants

The business park holds 40 data centers on 15 company campuses.4 AEP Ohio, the local electric utility, has said connecting a new large data center could take three to five years. So the newest data centers are building gas plants of their own.5

A 2025 state law, House Bill 15, created a path for large customers to build generation on their own side of the meter. It also shortened deadlines at the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB), the state board that approves power plants.6 Will-Power OH, a Williams company, owns the four plants that serve Meta. EdgeConneX owns the other three, which power its own data centers.7

Where the plants are

All seven are in or next to the business park. Socrates the Younger and PowerConneX 3 would both sit on Clover Valley Road.8,9 NEO, the largest, would take about 130 acres in Jersey Township, south of Jug Street and east of Mink Street.10

Jersey Weekday Preschool meets at a church on Morse Road. The church's property line is 0.26 miles from the Socrates South equipment pad.11,12,13 Licking Heights High School and Lima Ridge Elementary are the closest public schools to any of the plants, 1.2 miles from Socrates South.11,14

See where the exhaust goes on the Downwind map Distances to every school

What's already approved

Five of the seven have state approval. One is running, and a second is finishing.

  • Socrates South, 200 MW for Meta. It went into service about Aug. 1, 2026, the developer told the state.15
  • Socrates North, 200 MW for Meta. The developer told the state on Nov. 3 that it expected the plant to go into service about Nov. 11, 2026.16
  • Socrates the Younger, 250 MW for Meta. The siting board approved it in June 2026 with 36 conditions.17 We haven't confirmed whether construction has started.40
  • PowerConneX I, 120 MW for EdgeConneX. Construction started Aug. 13, 2025, the developer told the state.18
  • PowerConneX II, 216 MW for EdgeConneX. The developer filed a start-of-construction notice on Dec. 2, 2025.19

Every plant's owner, equipment, status and state case number

What's still open

The siting board still has to decide on two plants. Three plants don't have final air permits yet from Ohio EPA, the state's Environmental Protection Agency.

  • NEO, 500 MW for Meta, case 26-0627-EL-BGN. Every party in the case signed a settlement on Oct. 19 recommending approval, including the City of New Albany.2 A decision could come Dec. 17, The Reporting Project says.1 We haven't seen a draft air permit for NEO yet. Records: the settlement, the staff report.
  • PowerConneX 3, 450 MW for EdgeConneX, case 26-0361-EL-BGN. The developer, the city and the siting board's staff signed a settlement on Nov. 2 recommending approval.3 The judge said a decision would likely come in January, The Reporting Project wrote.20 Ohio EPA issued a draft air permit on Aug. 6, and its comment period has closed.21,22 On Oct. 16, the board's staff wrote that Ohio EPA's review was on hold, awaiting revised modeling after errors in yearly emission calculations.9 Records: the case file.
  • Socrates the Younger's draft air permit, P0139969, is open for public comment until Dec. 3.8 Records: the draft permit (PDF), the comment page.

Who decides what

The siting board decides whether a plant gets built, and Ohio EPA decides how much it may emit. The city and the school districts don't vote on the plants. The city does control zoning and tax breaks.

WhoWhat they decideWhere it standsHow to weigh in
Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB)State siting It decides whether each plant gets built, and on what conditions. Its executive director told council that state law gives the board sole authority over plants this size.23 A settlement doesn't bind the board, but the board has said it gives one "substantial weight."24,25 NEO and PowerConneX 3 await decisions. The parties in both cases recommend approval.2,3 Anyone can send a comment online, by email or by mail until the board decides.26 Only formal parties can question witnesses.27 How to comment
Ohio EPAAir permits It sets each plant's emission limits in an air permit. Draft permits get a public comment period, and sometimes a hearing.28 A final permit can be appealed to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission within 30 days.29 Socrates the Younger's draft is open for comment until Dec. 3.8 The PowerConneX 3 review was on hold as of Oct. 16.9 Comment online or by mail, with the permit number.8 Comment guide
City of New AlbanyLocal decisions The city says it can't approve or deny the plants. It controls zoning, and it joins state cases as a party.30 It has stopped approving new zoning for data centers.30 Most data centers get a 65% to 100% property-tax break on new buildings, usually for 15 years.31 Council votes each year to continue them.32 The city's lawyer signed both settlements recommending approval.2,3 We found no council vote on the PowerConneX 3 settlement in the city's posted agendas.33 What the city signed Speak at a regular council meeting. Council usually meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.34 How to speak at council
School districtsLocal decisions The districts don't decide on the plants.23 Tax breaks cut the property tax a district would otherwise collect. The city says it has "preapproved school compensation agreements," and we couldn't find what they pay.35 State law gives school boards notice of certain tax breaks. The Licking Heights, Johnstown-Monroe and C-TEC boards waived it under those agreements.36,32,37 We sent four questions about air modeling at the schools to Ohio EPA on Nov. 10. The fifth, for the school districts, isn't sent yet. The questions Speak at a board meeting. New Albany-Plain Local gives each speaker five minutes.38 Meeting guide
Ohio General AssemblyState law It writes the state laws the plants are built under. House Bill 15 opened the path for data centers to build their own plants.6 House Bills 646 and 706 would set new rules for data centers. Their status may have changed since June.39 What they would do Write to your state representative and senator. Find yours
The Ground RulesOur requests We don't decide anything. We're neighbors asking developers, the city and the state for seven things. Our position: plants this large should take the full Clean Air Act review and use the best available technology on every unit. Data centers should pay their own way for power and water, and tell neighbors what they will emit before decisions are made. Read all seven · Join us
Siting board case files are searchable at dis.puc.state.oh.us. Ohio EPA's draft permits that are open for comment are on its comment portal.

What you can do now

Every upcoming hearing, meeting and deadline has a calendar link on Take part.

Sources

  1. News reportthereportingproject.orgabAlan Miller, "8-year-old to officials considering 7th power plant for New Albany data centers," The Reporting Project, Oct. 23, 2026. thereportingproject.org
  2. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.usabcdJoint Stipulation and Recommendation, OPSB case 26-0627-EL-BGN (NEO), filed Oct. 19, 2026, p. 23 (city signature). PUCO docket
  3. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.usabcdPowerConneX, City of New Albany and OPSB Staff, "Joint Stipulation and Recommendation," case 26-0361-EL-BGN (PowerConneX New Albany 3), filed Nov. 2, 2026. PUCO docket
  4. datacenters.newalbanyohio.org↩City of New Albany, "Resident Questions," data center information site, undated, accessed Nov. 5, 2026. datacenters.newalbanyohio.org/resident-questions
  5. News reportnbc4i.com↩Katie Millard, "New Albany gets small electric grid to power new data center," NBC4, 2026. nbc4i.com
  6. Analysislegislature.ohio.govabOhio Legislative Service Commission, "H.B. 15 Final Analysis," July 9, 2025. legislature.ohio.gov
  7. abSee The seven gas plants for each plant's size, owner, the data center it serves, and its state case filings.
  8. Official recordohioepa.commentinput.comabcdeOhio EPA, public comment page for draft permit P0139969, "Will-Power OH, LLC - STY," viewed Nov. 5, 2026. ohioepa.commentinput.com
  9. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.usabcOPSB Staff, "Staff Report of Investigation," case 26-0361-EL-BGN, Oct. 16, 2026, including pp. 26–27 on the Ohio EPA permit. PUCO docket
  10. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩OPSB Staff, "Staff Report of Investigation," case 26-0627-EL-BGN, Oct. 1, 2026. PUCO docket
  11. gis.lickingcounty.govabLicking County Auditor, parcel map layer. Viewed Nov. 8, 2026. gis.lickingcounty.gov
  12. gis.lickingcounty.gov↩Licking County, summer 2026 aerial imagery. Viewed Nov. 8, 2026. gis.lickingcounty.gov
  13. childcaresearch.ohio.gov↩Ohio Department of Children and Youth, Ohio Child Care Search, ZIP codes 43001, 43004, 43031, 43054 and 43062. Viewed Nov. 8, 2026. childcaresearch.ohio.gov
  14. nces.ed.gov↩National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE school locations, public schools 2024–25 and private schools 2023–24. nces.ed.gov
  15. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩Will-Power OH, "Notice of Compliance, Completion and In-service Dates," OPSB case 25-0185-EL-BLN, filed July 22, 2026. PUCO docket
  16. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩Will-Power OH, "Notice of Completion and In-service Date," OPSB case 25-0188-EL-BGN, filed Nov. 3, 2026. PUCO docket
  17. dis.puc.state.oh.us↩"Ohio Power Siting Board approves fifth natural gas power plant in New Albany," Farm and Dairy, June 30, 2026 (farmanddairy.com); OPSB case 26-0169-EL-BLN (docket).
  18. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩PowerConneX New Albany, "Notice of Compliance with Condition 3: Start of Construction Date," OPSB case 25-0090-EL-BLN, filed Aug. 12, 2025. PUCO docket
  19. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩OPSB case 25-0302-EL-BGN, Opinion and Order, Nov. 20, 2025, and start-of-construction notice, Dec. 2, 2025. PUCO docket
  20. News reportthereportingproject.org↩Alan Miller, "New Albany mayor and council told to 'do better' in protecting area residents from gas-fired power plant pollutants," The Reporting Project, Nov. 5, 2026. thereportingproject.org
  21. Official record↩Ohio EPA, draft permit-to-install P0140005, EdgeConneX New Albany North (PowerConneX New Albany 3), Aug. 6, 2026. Comment page: ohioepa.commentinput.com; the draft is on Ohio EPA eDocs.
  22. Official recordohioepa.commentinput.com↩Ohio EPA, public comment page for draft permit P0140005, "EdgeConneX New Albany North," viewed Nov. 5 and Nov. 8, 2026. ohioepa.commentinput.com
  23. Official recordnewalbanyoh.new.swagit.comabCity of New Albany, City Council meeting video, Nov. 3, 2026, and its transcript, which the city's video host says was "compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning." OPSB Executive Director Michael Williams at about 0:05–0:55. We paraphrase it rather than quote it. newalbanyoh.new.swagit.com
  24. Official recordcodes.ohio.gov↩Ohio Administrative Code 4906-2-24(D). codes.ohio.gov
  25. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩Ohio Power Siting Board, Opinion and Order, Socrates North, case 25-0188-EL-BGN, Sept. 18, 2025, ¶ 64 (pp. 26–27, "substantial weight"). PUCO docket
  26. content.govdelivery.com↩PUCO Docketing Information System, "File a Public Comment," viewed Nov. 5, 2026 (dis.puc.state.oh.us); City of New Albany, "Energy Centers: Frequently Asked Questions," Oct. 2026 (PDF); OPSB news release, Sept. 16, 2026 (govdelivery.com).
  27. Official recordcodes.ohio.gov↩Ohio Revised Code 4906.08. codes.ohio.gov
  28. PDF↩City of New Albany, "Energy Centers: Frequently Asked Questions," Oct. 2026. (PDF)
  29. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩Ohio EPA final permit P0137967 cover letter, Aug. 19, 2025, filed in OPSB case 25-0090-EL-BLN. PUCO docket
  30. newalbanyohio.orgabCity of New Albany, "Natural Gas Power," accessed Nov. 5, 2026. newalbanyohio.org/natural-gas-power
  31. News reportgoverning.com↩David Trinko, "Ohio Throws Hundreds of Millions to Tech Giants' Data Centers," The Lima News, republished by Governing, July 29, 2024. governing.com
  32. Official recordPDFabCity of New Albany, Council Minutes, Oct. 6, 2026 (PDF), and Adopted Legislation, Oct. 6, 2026, R-38-2026 through R-40-2026 (PDF).
  33. newalbanyohio.org↩City of New Albany, council meeting agendas, Sept. 16, 2025 through Nov. 3, 2026 (34 agendas: 27 regular meetings plus organizational, special and workshop meetings), searched for "Siting," "OPSB," "interven," "stipulat," "Kegler," "PowerConneX" and "counsel," Nov. 5, 2026. City Council Business
  34. PDF↩City of New Albany, "2026 New Albany City Council Regular Meeting Schedule." (PDF)
  35. datacenters.newalbanyohio.org↩City of New Albany, "Our Community," data center site, accessed Nov. 5, 2026. datacenters.newalbanyohio.org/our-community
  36. Official recordcodes.ohio.gov↩Ohio Revised Code 5709.83, notice to school boards of proposed tax exemptions. codes.ohio.gov
  37. Official recordPDF↩City of New Albany, Council Minutes, Dec. 16, 2025 (PDF), and Adopted Legislation, Dec. 16, 2025, R-46-2025 (PDF).
  38. Official recordgo.neola.com↩New Albany-Plain Local Schools Board of Education, Bylaw 0169.1, "Public Participation at Board Meetings," revised Dec. 13, 2021. go.neola.com
  39. farmoffice.osu.edu↩Ellen Essman, "What's the state of data center legislation in Ohio?," OSU Farm Office, June 25, 2026. farmoffice.osu.edu
  40. Official recorddis.puc.state.oh.us↩OPSB case 26-0169-EL-BLN (Socrates the Younger), case record, viewed Nov. 5, 2026. PUCO docket