Nick Owens, an attorney for Brown County, Ohio, stands on the edge of a Mount Orab neighborhood, next to farmland that has been sold to a data center developer. Owens is leading an effort to stop the construction of large-scale data centers in communities like this.
Andrea Hsu/NPR
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Andrea Hsu/NPR
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MT. ORAB, Ohio — The mystery of the data center in this rural Cincinnati suburb has consumed Nick Owens.
The longtime, self-described small-town Republican lawyer has spent countless hours trying to figure out what’s going on with 1,000 acres of farmland and trees that property records show were sold to a data center developer in 2024 and 2025.
In a few places, the data center property butts up against beautiful two-story homes.
“It’s the Ohio people brag about. It’s the Ohio people love. It’s small-town charm,” he said. “Living in a rural area, but benefiting from the advantages of a pleasant and charming neighborhood.”
Some of the most coordinated opposition to data centers in the entire country arose from what happened in secret in this village of 4,300, a short drive from Owens’ home.
Nondisclosure agreements thwarted Owens’ efforts to learn more. But during his quest, he crossed paths with another equally alarmed local lawyer and real estate agent. Together, they mobilized a network of volunteers in nearly all 88 counties across the state. They are Democrats, Republicans and Independents. They were called Conserve Ohio.
“We all share the same philosophy and the same passion for preserving our way of life, preserving the future of Ohio, frankly, from the invasion of large-scale data centers,” Owens says. “It’s really beautiful.”
This fall, the group is behind ballot initiatives in 10 communities that would change local charters to prohibit the construction of large-scale data centers, the type used to power artificial intelligence. This is an effort that goes beyond the temporary pauses adopted by hundreds of city and county governments.
“Too often politicians tell you, ‘Well, the community should have a say,’” Owens says. “We’re going to find out in ten communities whether the communities want it or not.”
Meanwhile, the core group is working on a more ambitious project: a petition for an amendment to the state constitution that would ban large-scale data centers statewide. Their goal is to bring this to Ohio voters in 2027.
Data centers bring economic benefits and anxiety
It’s been more than a decade since tech companies first came to Ohio, attracted by the state’s abundant and inexpensive land, energy infrastructure and generous tax breaks. This combination has paved the way for some of the fastest data center growth in the country.
Today, despite the economic benefits – huge tax revenues, money for schools, plenty of construction jobs, and fewer permanent jobs – no one seems to want a backyard IT campus, especially one shrouded in secrecy.
Signs opposing data centers outnumber campaign signs in a Mt. Orab, Ohio, neighborhood.
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Andrea Hsu/NPR
“Should the school have more money or should the local government have more money so that we have a constant hum and ridiculous amounts of emissions and pollution?” says Owens, emphasizing that large-scale data centers will require new power plants. “Our community is not for sale.”
Pressed on whether the state should forgo all opportunities, Owens said he would consider the idea of putting data centers on former industrial sites, where they would be safe from people.
“If we want to have data centers, these are the best places,” he says, while acknowledging that it would be cheaper and easier for a developer to build on virgin farmland than on a former coal site. “I don’t know if there are enough brownfields, but shouldn’t we start with these?”
A hot election topic
In recent months, candidates for statewide elections in Ohio have tried to convince voters that they hear their concerns — even if they don’t support the kind of sweeping moratorium data center opponents are seeking.
Until recently, data center projects weren’t so controversial, in part because they were smaller and not designed for AI.
But as the issue gains traction, it has become a hot topic in the midterms, including in the tight race to fill a U.S. Senate seat. Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown introduced his opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted, as “the face of data centers.” Brown reminded voters that as lieutenant governor, Husted welcomed tech companies to Ohio and championed their investments in data centers.
Meanwhile, Husted accused Brown of hypocrisy, pointing to Brown’s past support for data centers.
Husted also presented his own solution, pushing a bill through Congress to force data centers to pay for power grid upgrades and other costs associated with their massive energy consumption. Senate Democrats blocked the bill, calling it toothless, prompting Husted to accuse Democrats of not caring or not helping.
Not convinced politicians will help
These political gestures did not convince Linda Moodie, an independent who volunteers with Conserve Ohio. She doesn’t believe any of the candidates running for statewide office will “do the right thing” if elected, which is to give citizens a say in how the data center is built.
“It’s definitely something that I think a lot of us didn’t see coming, and all of a sudden there’s just an influx of it,” she says.
Conserve Ohio volunteer Linda Moodie (right) collects signatures for a petition to ban large-scale data centers statewide during a Halloween event in Fairfield, Ohio, October 22, 2026.
Andrea Hsu/NPR
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Andrea Hsu/NPR
Between now and Election Day, she’s taking every opportunity to collect signatures to get a statewide ban on voting next year.
Recently, she set up a booth at the “Halloween on the Green” celebration in Fairfield, a suburb of Cincinnati. She distributed candy to the children and paperweights with the petition to the parents. Both were enthusiastically received.
“The closer it gets to home, the more people will want to do something,” says Moodie.
A slowdown in voter enthusiasm in a Republican stronghold
Two years ago, Owens was a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention. He won’t say how he’ll vote this fall, but he says there’s no doubt the data center issue, along with the $6 diesel issue, has dampened Republican enthusiasm.
Throughout Mount Orab, the absence of campaign signs is notable.
“Two years ago, you would have seen Donald Trump signing left and right,” Owens says.
This county, like much of rural Ohio, voted 80% for President Trump in 2024.
“You always have depressed votes in the midterms,” Owens says. “But I think the enthusiasm gap for Republicans, particularly in rural areas, will be much more pronounced… than any kind of enthusiasm gap for Democrats in cities.”
It doesn’t help that Trump belittles data center opponents, he says, citing recent comments the president has posted on his Truth Social social media platform.
“The only reason communities across the United States should not want data centers is if they want to end up backward and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with much lower taxes and jobs everywhere, let data rule,” Trump wrote. “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only be responsible for yourselves.”
Owens calls the president’s statements “tone deaf.”
“I mean, no one wants to be poor or backward,” he says. “I want our usual way of life.”
Construction on the Mount Orab site has not yet started. We don’t know when this will be the case. Owens says because of nondisclosure agreements, people who live here don’t know anything.
For now, at the edge of the data center property on a cool fall day, it’s almost silent except for the birds.
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