As AI infrastructure continues to swallow up massive swathes of the American countryside, Nvidia, OpenAI, and SoftBank’s SB Energy have officially announced a joint venture to build the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Piketon, Ohio. However, despite promises of economic relief and local job creation, online critics and local residents aren’t entirely sold on the tech titans rolling into town.
In a post shared on Ohio Reddit, a WLWT5 report indicates a massive new data center project is coming, causing widespread panic and anger over potential electric bill changes. The planned Pike County facility’s financial and physical footprint is staggeringly large. Nvidia is putting up to $105 billion in credit guarantees to support long-term leases, along with a $1.5 billion direct equity investment in developer SB Energy.
Meanwhile, OpenAI will serve as the anchor tenant for the facility, which will start with 4.25 gigawatts (GW) of compute capacity before expanding to 8 GW, a massive layout capable of housing roughly 1.5 million Nvidia GPUs per hardware generation. While the project claims it will generate 35,000 construction jobs over six years and create 2,500 permanent operating roles, SB Energy and utility partner AEP Ohio are also deploying 10 GW of dedicated new power generation and $4.2 billion in grid transmission upgrades to keep the massive compute demand from spiking utility bills for local residents.
Ohio Citizens Don’t Believe Them
Despite promises of injected money and no massive energy hikes, folks still don’t believe them. Even with developers pledging an $80 million community benefits fund and eco-friendly, closed-loop air-cooling systems, news of the massive deal sparked intense online debate. Many skeptics voiced major concerns over resource consumption, corporate dominance, and long-term land impacts.
“The thing youre supposed to do is collectively work together to prevent the centers from being built or approved. Right now, its just talk but eventually action will need to be taken against the data centers themselves.” one user wrote. Another added: “Unfortunately this isnt going to happen. The fragmentation is too great and the populace too uneducated to make any change happen.”
Other Ohio citizens questioned the long-term benefits for the local Republicans. “I feel like this is one of those Republicans have been in control a long time and things keep getting worse, but a bunch of people are gonna vote R all the way.” Another frustrated user said, “This could use more power than every home in the state“
Phase 1 of construction is scheduled to bring the first 800 megawatts online in 2028, with full expansion expected to run through 2032. Only time will tell if the massive tech investment delivers on its promises or leaves local residents footing the bill.
