By Ryan Kramer, Guest Writer
Less than 90 miles from Xavier University, development of the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus continues, becoming known as the largest data center in the world.
While Ohio already has over 100 data centers, the Technology Campus is projected to surpass the current largest data center, Inner Mongolia Information Park in China.
Data centers are used to house Information Technology (IT) systems and large computers but are also used to train AI.
Located on the site of the now defunct Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, the new center in Piketon, Ohio is owned by SB Energy, the primary property developer for OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. As a result of the data center, many are beginning to look towards Ohio as the headquarters for contemporary, innovative developments in ChatGPT and other AI software through OpenAI.
NVIDIA has since partnered with SB Energy and OpenAI, investing $1.5 billion in the data center. With a number as high as what NVIDIA has invested, Ohioans are examining how their bills will be affected by the construction of the data center. Even after the project is completed, many fear that the upkeep and utilities expenses alone will create hurdles in future years.
To keep the facility running at its highest efficiency, electricity to support the massive servers of the Technology Campus creates a daunting question of how the project can be financed without governmental aid. Governmental aid, in this case, would mean higher taxes. According to WLTW, “Even with NVIDIA’s assistance, the center is projected to require eight gigawatts to continuously operate – a staggering amount of electricity that could power 6 million homes, which is more than exist across all of Ohio”. This amount of energy would shift Ohio to the AI headquarters of the United States but may be more than what Ohio can sustain.
Along with the electricity, taxpayers worry about a natural commodity many Americans do not: water. Data centers rely on evaporative cooling, where water is used to absorb hot air from inside the facility and keep the building from overheating. The massive scale of the Technology Campus could create such high demand in the market that supply is not able to keep up in Ohio.
If utilities like electricity and water become scarce, nearly every individual and company will be affected. On a local level, Xavier uses tuition and donations to keep the lights burning and the water fountains flowing; if utilities are depleted by the requirements of the data center, tuition would have to be raised to keep pace with expenses.
However, many Ohio officials are optimistic about the production of the Campus, citing long-term technological growth and many employment opportunities as a few benefits of the facility. According to the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus’ website, “nearly 4,000 construction jobs will be created as well as approximately 300 to 400 jobs during operations,” a fact supported by Jessica Ryan, the Vice President of Communications at Strategic Public Partners, the public relations firm working with SB Energy.
Especially as the gubernatorial race between Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton continues, views on the data center have become political. Republican Ramaswamy has largely favored the benefits of a data center like the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus, focusing on the long-term advantages. Democrat Acton expresses skeptical views on the project, concentrating on the short-term dangers like high production costs.
On a national level, the U.S. Department of Energy is working closely with SB Energy to complete the project, contributing to a sense of security for some Ohioans and augmenting a fear of taxation for others. The Department of Energy has recently been supported by the Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement with Japan, a deal completed during the summer of last year. As a result, Japan has invested $550 billion to expand America’s core industries as stated by the White House’s fact sheet of the agreement.
One of these industries is AI, leading to large quantities of international money pouring into Ohio through the Department of Energy. While this could assuage Ohio’s wariness of rising taxes, citizens can only wonder if it is enough to support the gargantuan data center.