Why this score?
Four weighted factors drive the Morgan County risk score. Methodology is fully documented — each input is public data or a reasoned proxy.
Limited transmission capacity. Hyperscale loads are not currently practical without major utility upgrades.
Limited water capacity. Cooling-tower designs face significant constraints; closed-loop or air-cooled would be required.
Limited available large-acreage land. A structural disincentive to greenfield hyperscale development.
No documented activity in or near the county.
Water infrastructure
Any hyperscale data center in Morgan County would need an Ohio EPA NPDES permit and (for surface water) coordination with the relevant watershed authority. The water source is Muskingum River.
The Muskingum River system is overseen for flood control and reservoir management by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, which would be involved in any major industrial withdrawal.
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. Morgan County is served by AEP Ohio + Buckeye Rural Electric.
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. Buckeye Power and the rural electric cooperatives it supplies serve much of rural and Appalachian Ohio. Cooperatives have less surplus transmission capacity and more restrictive board governance, slowing — but not preventing — hyperscale development.
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.
Pike County — Piketon's PORTS Technology Campus is a planned 10-gigawatt data-center development on the former DOE uranium-enrichment site — the largest single project announced in U.S. history.
State legislative context
Ohio's 2025–2026 legislative session has produced multiple bills targeting hyperscale data centers. Each affects Morgan 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 Morgan 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 Morgan County's score compares to the rest of Ohio's 88 counties.
See all 88 counties ranked →A preparation brief written for your address in Morgan County. Includes your public comment letter, hearing script, public records templates, and county officials. Delivered in 60 seconds.