The Army Corps quietly issued a federal permit for a massive data center at the former Stuart coal plant site, even as local voters organize petitions to restrict or ban data centers.
The planned facility could draw 1,300 MW by 2032, roughly 31 times Adams County’s current annual consumption, making this a major new AI-capable power load in southern Ohio.
The site is attractive on paper for hyperscale or AI infrastructure because it reuses existing grid and water access from a retired plant, but it comes with ecological impacts, wetland mitigation, and strict conditions around endangered species and nearby cemeteries.
Local pushback centers on light pollution, tax breaks, zoning control, and skepticism that high-automation data centers will replace lost plant jobs, not on AI itself.
An observatory owner and aerospace executive is arguing for operational constraints like downward-directed, red-spectrum lighting and responsible siting to protect dark skies and ecotourism while still enabling AI growth.
Townships are now racing to stand up zoning commissions and temporary moratoriums, signaling that permitting and community consent will be a real execution risk for large GPU and cloud builds here.
The article is worth reading for the permitting details, local power numbers, and how rural communities are starting to shape the ground rules for AI-scale data center deployments.
Source: Adams County data center gets federal permit as voters sign petitions
