AI Data Centers in Ohio: The World's First Gigawatt Data Center (2026)

Ohio is home to what its developer describes as the world's first data center announced at full gigawatt scale on a single site, a 1,500-megawatt AI campus under construction east of Columbus. Ban the Bots' data center map tracks five major AI data center facilities across the state as of 2026 — at least 2,250 megawatts of disclosed capacity across three of them alone — including a former auto manufacturing plant now being redeveloped into an AI campus, a structurally different buildout than either Texas or Virginia.

• Which companies are building AI data centers in Ohio?
• Why is Ohio attracting AI data center investment?
• Water, power, and the nuclear angle
• Ohio AI data center facilities, one by one
• FAQ: AI data centers in Ohio
• Conclusion: tracking Ohio's AI buildout

Which companies are building AI data centers in Ohio?

Four major AI and cloud infrastructure operators have active or planned projects in Ohio: Meta, Amazon Web Services, Google, and OpenAI (in partnership with SoftBank). Together they account for the five facilities tracked on this site's map, concentrated in two established clusters — the New Albany/Licking County corridor east of Columbus and Dublin in Franklin County — plus two newer, standalone projects in Lima (Allen County) and Lordstown (Trumbull County).

Why is Ohio attracting AI data center investment?

Ohio's buildout spans more than a decade, and a few recurring factors show up across its five tracked facilities:

• An established corridor: Google's Columbus-area data center in New Albany has operated since 2016, and Meta chose the same Licking County corridor for its much larger Project Prometheus campus in 2024 — a sign that once a hyperscale cluster forms, later projects tend to follow the existing power and fiber infrastructure rather than start elsewhere.
• State tax incentives: Ohio has offered significant tax incentives to attract data center investment; both AWS's Dublin region and Google's New Albany facility are on record as benefiting from state tax breaks.
• Redevelopment of legacy manufacturing sites: OpenAI's Stargate campus in Lordstown is being built on the site of a former General Motors plant later operated by Foxconn, turning a shuttered auto manufacturing complex into AI infrastructure. Google's Project BOSC in Lima similarly brings new investment, including $50 million in local infrastructure upgrades, to a smaller Allen County community.

Water, power, and the nuclear angle

Ohio's facilities source power and water differently, and Meta's Project Prometheus in particular has made the state a focal point for a specific trend: pairing a single AI data center directly with new nuclear power.

• Meta's Project Prometheus is backed by nuclear power agreements with three separate companies — TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra — to help supply the roughly 1,500 megawatts the five-building campus is expected to draw. The project's water source is not publicly documented.
• AWS's Dublin region draws from the Scioto River via the Columbus Division of Power.
• Google's existing New Albany data center draws from the City of New Albany water system.
• Google's planned Project BOSC in Lima secured a water ordinance for 5 million gallons per day as part of its approval, ahead of construction starting in 2026.

For the nuclear-AI pairing happening nationally, see Ban the Bots' nuclear data centers explainer. For the broader water and power trade-offs of AI infrastructure, see AI data centers near you and the AI water use calculator.

Ohio AI data center facilities, one by one

• Meta Project Prometheus – New Albany Campus (Licking County; under construction): announced in 2024 at 1500 Beech Road, this five-building hyperscale complex is designed as the world's first gigawatt-scale data center at a single site, with 1,500 megawatts of capacity. The first three buildings were nearing completion as of March 2026. It is meant to power Meta's largest AI training workloads, backed by nuclear power agreements with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra and more than $10 billion in investment.
• Amazon Web Services Ohio Region (Dublin, Franklin County; operating since 2014): AWS's primary eastern US cloud region, with 600 megawatts of capacity, drawing water from the Scioto River via the Columbus Division of Power and benefiting from significant Ohio tax incentives.
• Google Columbus Data Center (New Albany, Licking County; operating since 2016): a 150-megawatt facility drawing from the City of New Albany water system, part of Ohio's growing data center corridor and subsidized by state tax breaks.
• Google Project BOSC – Lima, Ohio (American Township, Allen County; planned, announced September 2025): a $500 million investment on 200+ acres, with construction set to begin in 2026 and completion targeted for 2030. The project includes $50 million in local infrastructure upgrades, a secured water ordinance of 5 million gallons per day, and an estimated 50 full-time jobs.
• OpenAI Stargate – Lordstown (Trumbull County; under construction, announced September 23, 2025): a redevelopment of the former GM/Foxconn manufacturing complex into a large-scale AI campus, managed by SoftBank as part of Stargate's Phase 2 expansion, which brings OpenAI's total planned US Stargate capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts.

Facility details, coordinates, and sourcing are kept current on the interactive data center map.

FAQ: AI data centers in Ohio

How many AI data centers are in Ohio?

Ban the Bots tracks five major AI data center facilities in Ohio as of 2026, operated by Meta, Amazon Web Services, Google, and OpenAI (with SoftBank), with at least 2,250 megawatts of disclosed capacity across the three facilities that report a figure — Meta's Project Prometheus, AWS's Dublin region, and Google's New Albany data center — plus two more projects, Google's Project BOSC in Lima and OpenAI's Stargate campus in Lordstown, whose capacity has not been publicly disclosed.

What is Meta's Project Prometheus?

Project Prometheus is Meta's 1,500-megawatt, five-building data center campus in New Albany, Ohio, designed as the world's first gigawatt-scale AI data center built at a single site. Announced in 2024 with more than $10 billion in investment, its first three buildings were nearing completion as of March 2026, and it is backed by nuclear power agreements with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra.

Is OpenAI building a data center in Ohio?

Yes. OpenAI's Stargate initiative, in partnership with SoftBank, is redeveloping the former General Motors and Foxconn manufacturing complex in Lordstown, Trumbull County, into an AI data center campus, announced September 23, 2025 as part of Stargate's Phase 2 expansion.

Do Ohio's AI data centers use nuclear power?

Meta's Project Prometheus in New Albany is the clearest example: it is backed by nuclear power agreements with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra. Ohio's other tracked facilities rely on conventional grid power and municipal or river water sources rather than dedicated nuclear supply deals.

Conclusion: tracking Ohio's AI buildout

Ohio's AI data center buildout spans a decade-old cloud corridor around Columbus, a new attempt at gigawatt-scale, nuclear-backed AI infrastructure in New Albany, and the repurposing of a shuttered auto plant in Lordstown for OpenAI's Stargate — a structurally different mix than the buildouts in Texas or Virginia. For the national picture, see the full AI data center map, and for the human and environmental impact this buildout can have on a community, see AI data centers near you: pros, cons and backlash.