AES Filing Reveals Proposed 1.3 GW Data Center Near Adams County Substation

AES Ohio's Feb. 3 filing to grid authorities disclosed "AES Ohio has a customer request for service in the vicinity of its Stuart Substation in Adams County, OH," and a chart in the filing shows the project would "start at 100 MW in 2028, and ramp up to 1300 MW, or 1.3 gigawatts, by March 2032." The utility's submission also states the request "would require regional transmission upgrades," but AES declined to name a customer or confirm an exact site in Adams County.

If built at the full 1,300 megawatt level, the proposed center would be among the largest planned in Ohio. WCPO's analysis of recent filings ranked the Adams County entry third in the state behind a 2 GW project in Mt. Orab and ahead of a Wilmington entry described in WCPO material as "500 GW." Local and national groups differ on how the load compares to county consumption; WCPO and other reporting cite "more than 20 times" Adams County's current electricity use, while Food & Water Watch gave a "31 times" figure.

Ohio EPA records revealed by WCPO on Feb. 5 show a permit application proposing 12 light industrial buildings on the former Dayton Power & Light landfill site north of the Stuart landfill, but both the EPA and Adams County officials would not confirm that those buildings are the data center referenced in the AES filing. County reporting and local broadcasts say the Adams County Economic Development Director has signed non-disclosure agreements with companies considering projects, limiting public detail about developers or parcels under discussion.

Community response has moved quickly. Manchester residents held a town meeting to press officials on size, location and job promises, and Monroe Township Trustee Brenda Emery told attendees, "These are not long-term jobs for the loss that we're going to have forever." Sprigg Township trustees voted on Feb. 26 to adopt a 12-month moratorium on new data center construction while officials and residents seek more information.

Statewide context underscores the scale: GovTech and Dayton Daily News reporting note Ohio has 194 data centers and that many existing facilities are small by comparison, for example a 4.8 MW CyrusOne site in Hamilton and a 3.8 MW Flexential site in West Chester Township. Hamilton officials have warned that even delivering 45 MW can take time; as Edwin Porter, Hamilton's executive director of infrastructure, said about a separate project, "To assess feasibility, we initiated two studies simultaneously. We have received the results of the first study. While the findings are lengthy and complex and will take time to fully review, the preliminary conclusion is that it would take approximately 30 months to deliver 45 MW of power to the site."

Key open questions remain: the identity of the customer, whether the former DP&L landfill parcels are the intended site, the phased energization schedule between 100 MW and 1,300 MW, and the scope and cost of the "regional transmission upgrades" AES flagged in its filing. County trustees, AES Ohio and PJM interconnection studies will be the documents and decisions to watch as the proposal proceeds.