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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Data centers are power-hungry beasts, and they are descending in force on central Ohio, where new transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure is needed to help bring these facilities the power they will require. However, major U.S. utility American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) (AEP) (Columbus, Ohio) is attempting to cushion its investments in T&D infrastructure in the state by proposing the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) require a 10-year commitment for data centers and cryptocurrency miners to pay for a minimum of 90% of the electricity they request, even they don't use it all.
The move is a sensible one in many regards. AEP wants to make these massive investments where they are needed and in a timely manner. "In order to protect AEP Ohio customers and future economic development in its service territory, the company wants to help ensure that any large-scale transmission investment is right-sized to serve load that will show up at the time it is committed to show up," AEP Ohio said in its filing with the PUCO. "This approach should help mitigate any risks that the load may not show up at the level and time indicated or that facilities will be overbuilt to serve the actual load that develops." In other words, AEP wants to build infrastructure in a timely manner, but not unnecessarily--and it wants data centers and cryptocurrency miners to shoulder some of the company's financial risks for the investments.
It's a balancing act, really. Industrial Info is tracking 120 active AEP T&D projects in Ohio, primarily in the zone containing Greater Columbus, where many of the proposed data centers are planned. More than $20 billion of these data centers alone are planned around New Albany, a northwestern suburb of Columbus. And that's not including a $20 billion investment that semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) (Santa Clara, California) is making for two new fabrication facilities in the area.
When Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington) announced last year that it would spend up to $7.8 billion on a new AI-enabled data center in Ohio, the company didn't disclose a location, but it was noted that Amazon had purchased nearly 400 acres near the Intel site in New Albany. The project promises to be massive in scale, with construction expected to last into the 2030s. Amazon already has an operational data center in the area.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more by viewing by the project reports on the Amazon and Intel projects around New Albany.
But Amazon is certainly not the only data center provider that wants to build in the New Albany area. Quality Technology Services (QTS) (Overland Park, Kansas) is investing more than $4 billion around New Albany on both the expansion of existing facilities and grassroot construction. The company's Project Liberty and Project Justice are presently under construction in New Albany. Phase I construction of both facilities kicked off earlier this year and is expected to be wrapped up in 2025. Together, the two new complexes, each consisting of multiple buildings and hundreds of thousands of square feet, are expected to require more than 210 megawatts (MW) of power. Subscribers can click here to learn more about QTS' projects in the area.
The new power will probably be there, but AEP wants to ensure that this new generation can, in fact, get to where it needs to be via associated T&D infrastructure. Several new power generation facilities are planned in the Greater Columbus area, many for solar power. One of the largest of these is under construction less than 50 miles from New Albany, albeit on another side of Columbus. Electricite de France SA (Paris, France) began construction of its Fox Squirrel photovoltaic facility in the summer of 2022, with Blattner Energy Incorporated (Avon, Minnesota) heading up the work. When completed later this year, the facility will provide more than 570 MW of power to the central Ohio grid. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Project Database can click here for more details on the project.
Other renewable energy projects bound for the area include Invenergy LLC's (Chicago, Illinois) Cadence solar facility in Union County, which will use an estimated 680,000 solar panels to provide 275 MW of generation when completed in 2025. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Most of AEP's planned T&D projects in Ohio are set for the Greater Columbus zone, where most of the new data centers are bound. The company is planning the Southeast Columbus Area Improvement Project, which requires both grassroot construction of new overhead, double-circuit, 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines as well as rebuilds of existing lines and substation upgrades, and is expected to be completed in 2026. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Another area transmission project between the Millbrook Park substation in New Boston and the South Point substation in South Point requires rebuilding several miles of overhead lines, upgrading aging lattice towers with modern steel poles and an upgrade to the South Point station. The series of projects is expected to begin next year, with expected completion in 2028. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
AEP's request to the PUCO for a sort of guaranteed payment for the costs of seeing out these and similar T&D projects is an attempt to ensure that the new generation gets to new data centers in a timely manner without unnecessarily burdening other Ohio residents with costs or power availability.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The move is a sensible one in many regards. AEP wants to make these massive investments where they are needed and in a timely manner. "In order to protect AEP Ohio customers and future economic development in its service territory, the company wants to help ensure that any large-scale transmission investment is right-sized to serve load that will show up at the time it is committed to show up," AEP Ohio said in its filing with the PUCO. "This approach should help mitigate any risks that the load may not show up at the level and time indicated or that facilities will be overbuilt to serve the actual load that develops." In other words, AEP wants to build infrastructure in a timely manner, but not unnecessarily--and it wants data centers and cryptocurrency miners to shoulder some of the company's financial risks for the investments.
It's a balancing act, really. Industrial Info is tracking 120 active AEP T&D projects in Ohio, primarily in the zone containing Greater Columbus, where many of the proposed data centers are planned. More than $20 billion of these data centers alone are planned around New Albany, a northwestern suburb of Columbus. And that's not including a $20 billion investment that semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) (Santa Clara, California) is making for two new fabrication facilities in the area.
When Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington) announced last year that it would spend up to $7.8 billion on a new AI-enabled data center in Ohio, the company didn't disclose a location, but it was noted that Amazon had purchased nearly 400 acres near the Intel site in New Albany. The project promises to be massive in scale, with construction expected to last into the 2030s. Amazon already has an operational data center in the area.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more by viewing by the project reports on the Amazon and Intel projects around New Albany.
But Amazon is certainly not the only data center provider that wants to build in the New Albany area. Quality Technology Services (QTS) (Overland Park, Kansas) is investing more than $4 billion around New Albany on both the expansion of existing facilities and grassroot construction. The company's Project Liberty and Project Justice are presently under construction in New Albany. Phase I construction of both facilities kicked off earlier this year and is expected to be wrapped up in 2025. Together, the two new complexes, each consisting of multiple buildings and hundreds of thousands of square feet, are expected to require more than 210 megawatts (MW) of power. Subscribers can click here to learn more about QTS' projects in the area.
The new power will probably be there, but AEP wants to ensure that this new generation can, in fact, get to where it needs to be via associated T&D infrastructure. Several new power generation facilities are planned in the Greater Columbus area, many for solar power. One of the largest of these is under construction less than 50 miles from New Albany, albeit on another side of Columbus. Electricite de France SA (Paris, France) began construction of its Fox Squirrel photovoltaic facility in the summer of 2022, with Blattner Energy Incorporated (Avon, Minnesota) heading up the work. When completed later this year, the facility will provide more than 570 MW of power to the central Ohio grid. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Project Database can click here for more details on the project.
Other renewable energy projects bound for the area include Invenergy LLC's (Chicago, Illinois) Cadence solar facility in Union County, which will use an estimated 680,000 solar panels to provide 275 MW of generation when completed in 2025. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Most of AEP's planned T&D projects in Ohio are set for the Greater Columbus zone, where most of the new data centers are bound. The company is planning the Southeast Columbus Area Improvement Project, which requires both grassroot construction of new overhead, double-circuit, 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines as well as rebuilds of existing lines and substation upgrades, and is expected to be completed in 2026. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Another area transmission project between the Millbrook Park substation in New Boston and the South Point substation in South Point requires rebuilding several miles of overhead lines, upgrading aging lattice towers with modern steel poles and an upgrade to the South Point station. The series of projects is expected to begin next year, with expected completion in 2028. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
AEP's request to the PUCO for a sort of guaranteed payment for the costs of seeing out these and similar T&D projects is an attempt to ensure that the new generation gets to new data centers in a timely manner without unnecessarily burdening other Ohio residents with costs or power availability.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
