A Columbus research firm's cost-benefit analysis of Ohio data center development concluded that requiring new facilities to generate most of their own power from renewables would deliver the largest public benefit among the scenarios it examined.
Scioto Analysis evaluated five scenarios, running 10,000 simulations covering 2027 through 2034. Under its model, a requirement that data centers generate their own power with 90% renewables produced a benefit-cost ratio of 2.9. A ban on new construction ranked second at 2.7. The status quo scored 1.04, and a 90% natural gas behind-the-meter requirement scored 2.2.
The report states Ohio trails only Virginia, Texas and California in data center count, and that the state provided $2.3 billion in subsidies through tax breaks. It credits development since 2013 with 96,000 jobs and $62 billion in social benefits, while projecting that if every planned project comes online by 2028, the number of facilities would rise by half and annual energy draw and carbon emissions would more than triple.
Principal Rob Moore said emissions that are not priced lead to local air-quality issues, lung and heart conditions, and higher carbon emissions.
The study includes a significant caveat: its findings depend heavily on employment assumptions. Overestimating job and earnings effects could push even the ban or the 90% renewables scenario into negative net present value, while underestimating them would improve every alternative.