Ohio EPA regulators hosted a public hearing Tuesday night on an air permit for a massive gas-fired power plant proposed for Fairfield County, a facility meant to supply electricity to data centers near Millersport. State estimates show the plant could release more than 7.2 million tons of greenhouse gases and over 2,000 tons of other pollutants every year, numbers that drew sharp concern from residents who packed the meeting.
Competing Accounts of Size and Purpose
The hearing centered on an air permit application for what's been called the Fairfield Energy Center, proposed by Advanced Power Services of Boston. According to NBC4, the facility is described as a 1,300-megawatt power plant that would provide electricity to Vantage Data Centers' four neighboring facilities in Millersport. But The Reporting Project describes the proposal as a 1,350-megawatt plant that would serve only one Vantage customer and would not connect to the regional electricity grid. The two outlets' figures and descriptions of the plant's purpose do not match, and the available reporting does not resolve the discrepancy.
Ohio EPA's own estimates, cited by NBC4, put the plant's potential output at 7,232,826 tons of greenhouse gases a year along with more than 2,000 tons of other pollutants. The Reporting Project's separate review of the permit application specified an estimated 2,164 tons of air pollutants annually, alongside the same greenhouse-gas figure. Those numbers formed the backbone of concern raised by residents who turned out for Tuesday's hearing.
Jobs and Tax Revenue Promised in Return
Backers of the project point to economic benefits laid out in the application. The plant's supporters say it would support 2,900 construction jobs and 20 permanent full-time positions, and that the facility would generate $157 million in property tax revenue, the same NBC4 report notes. Those figures represent the project's own projected benefits rather than independently verified outcomes.
The Reporting Project reported that the public comment period on the air permit request remains open online through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12; NBC4 says comments are due Nov. 12. The Reporting Project additionally reported that Ohio EPA staff have recommended approval of the permit, leaving the final call to Ohio EPA Director John Logue.
Part of a Broader Buildout Across the Region
The Millersport proposal fits into a much larger wave of data-center-driven power construction across Ohio. Canary Media reports the state has roughly 100 data centers already operating, with nearly 150 more in the pipeline, and that AEP Ohio anticipates electricity demand will nearly triple over the next decade largely because of those projects. As of February, the utility's load forecast reflected signed contracts for 17.8 gigawatts of data-center demand expected online at various points through 2035, according to the same outlet.
Not far away in Licking County, The Reporting Project notes that seven behind-the-meter power plants are proposed, under construction, or already operating in New Albany to serve some of that county's 40 data centers. The Ohio Capital Journal reported that if one more proposed unit, PowerConneX New Albany 3, wins approval, it would become the seventh gas plant powering a data center in that business park, with the seven plants together totaling 1,936 megawatts and the potential to emit 11.9 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. More than 50 people reportedly packed a New Albany meeting room on Oct. 6 for a hearing on a separate proposed 500-megawatt plant there, with roughly 20 speaking against it, per the Ohio Capital Journal's account.
Canary Media also found that, regionally, projected new fossil-fueled generation added between 2025 and 2027 would be 2.5 times the additional electricity expected from solar and wind combined. Separately, the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel has noted that AEP Ohio's Data Center Tariff requires new, large data centers to pay for at least 85% of their contracted electricity capacity for up to 12 years, even if actual usage falls short.
For now, the air permit remains under Ohio EPA review, with the public comment window closing Thursday night.
