Residents fight back against concerning Amazon project: 'Unresolved and unacceptable risks'

Amazon is planning a massive data center in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, but residents are pushing back, Signal Ohio reported.

What's happening?

Amazon already has a 142-acre data center in the Hilliard suburb of Columbus, which the town offered it incentives to build there in 2019. 

However, it now wants to add a six-acre plot with 228 "fuel cell" units powered by methane gas, the largest such plant in North America, which it says will provide 73 megawatts of power to its data center. It also wants to operate 158 diesel generators.

Unfortunately, the noise and air pollution from these operations will be enormous. 

Why is this new power plant construction important?

As the use of generative AI balloons worldwide, major companies like Amazon and Google are building massive data centers to supply the computing power behind this technology. These huge campuses of warehouses filled with computers need as much electricity as entire cities to power them, leading owners to begin building their own power plants, too. 

Normally, constructing new power plants would be a good thing. A recent analysis by Yale revealed that data centers are driving up electricity costs for the average American. Private power production helps remove that burden from the grid and ensures that everyday citizens don't have to pay for the extra capacity needed.

However, the choice to use methane gas — a fuel that produces air pollution when burned, leading to both negative health effects and an overheating planet — turns this into a net negative for the planet and especially for residents of the local neighborhood.

"I was unaware that putting in a data center meant putting in a mini gas power plant and all these other things with it," local resident and concerned party Annette Singh told Signal Ohio. 

"That has a huge effect on air quality and safety of anyone living near it," Singh added. "I'm just trying to publicize what is happening in my neighborhood so people are aware of what could happen in their neighborhood."

The trustees of Norwich Township also sent a letter to state officials, outlining what they called "unresolved and unacceptable risks" to public safety, such as a failure to consult with local fire officials about the methane gas pipeline.

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What's being done about the project?

Hilliard officials initially tried to prevent this new construction with local zoning changes, but were overridden by the state government. They have now filed a suit alleging that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency didn't notify the local government before issuing Amazon its permit for the construction.

"The City of Hilliard is disappointed to not have the opportunity to formally review the project as we would with almost all other new development projects in Hilliard," acting city manager Dan Ralley said in a news release. 

"These are the types of issues that should be addressed at the local level," he added. "It's regrettable that state lawmakers have overridden local oversight, particularly since this technology is unfamiliar and new not just to our City, but also the entire State."

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