Why this score?
Four weighted factors drive the Fairfield County risk score. Methodology is fully documented — each input is public data or a reasoned proxy.
Above-average transmission capacity. Mid-sized facilities viable; hyperscale would need targeted upgrades.
Moderate water availability. Cooling-tower viable with standard permitting; closed-loop reduces risk.
Limited large-parcel availability. Brownfield redevelopment is often the only viable path.
No direct adjacency, but Ohio's data-center cluster activity could expand here.
Water infrastructure
Any hyperscale data center in Fairfield County would need an Ohio EPA NPDES permit and (for surface water) coordination with the relevant watershed authority. The water source is Hocking River and Fairfield Beach.
Surface-water capacity for hyperscale cooling depends on flow volumes, downstream-user demand, and Ohio EPA NPDES discharge limits. Inland river sources are usually the binding constraint on data-center designs that depend on evaporative cooling.
A single hyperscale data center using evaporative cooling can require 1–5 million gallons per day. Closed-loop and air-cooled designs reduce that draw at higher capital cost — a tradeoff that becomes more relevant as Ohio's water-permitting reviews lengthen.
Electric infrastructure
Grid capacity and transmission access are the single biggest driver of where hyperscale developers actually site projects. Fairfield County is served by AEP Ohio.
AEP Ohio is the dominant utility for Central, Eastern, and Southern Ohio. Under Ohio HB 15's behind-the-meter tariff, AEP allows on-site generation that bypasses normal local grid review — the most aggressive data-center accommodation of any Ohio utility.
A single major substation upgrade or new transmission-line announcement can change the power factor significantly without any public proposal having been filed. Utility-survey activity at specific industrial parcels typically precedes a hyperscale proposal by six to twelve months.
Adjacent county activity
Hyperscale campuses cluster near existing transmission and water infrastructure. Activity in adjacent counties is the single best predictor of where a developer will look next.
Licking County — Ohio's largest data-center cluster (Meta, Google, Amazon, QTS, Microsoft in New Albany) plus Cologix's announced $7B Johnstown campus.
Franklin County — Hilliard's Bloom Energy fuel-cell installation — 73 MW Amazon + AEP Ohio data-center generation, the largest in North America — is in administrative-court litigation.
State legislative context
Ohio's 2025–2026 legislative session has produced multiple bills targeting hyperscale data centers. Each affects Fairfield County directly, regardless of whether a project is currently proposed here.
HB 15 (signed into law in 2025) created the "behind-the-meter" generation framework allowing data centers to install on-site generation that bypasses some local zoning review and PUCO oversight. HB 695 (in committee) would prohibit local officials from signing non-disclosure agreements with data-center developers, with $1,000 fines per violation.
The proposed Ohio Constitutional Amendment from Ohio Residents for Responsible Development (ORRD) would ban hyperscale data centers above 25 MW absent a county-level vote. The campaign needs 413,488 valid signatures from at least half of Ohio's 88 counties by July 1, 2026.
No active data center in Fairfield County — yet.
The fastest available policy lever is the Ohio constitutional amendment that would ban hyperscale data centers above 25 MW absent a county-level vote. Ohio Residents for Responsible Development needs 413,488 valid signatures by July 1, 2026 to put it on the November ballot. Find a signing event in your county.
Find a signing event →Independent. Reader-supported. Free to participate.
Compare with other counties
See how Fairfield County's score compares to the rest of Ohio's 88 counties.
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