CINCINNATI — In recent months, data centers have become a hot topic in many areas of the Tri-state.
Plans for data centers are already in motion in cities like Hamilton, Trenton, Wilmington, Maysville and possibly Mount Orab.
Saturday, dozens of people packed inside Zimmer Hall at the University of Cincinnati to talk about data centers.
Casey Putsch, a Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, said the goal of the discussion was to inform residents about what data centers bring to a small community.
“The biggest thing is for people to understand exactly what we’re up against here,” Putsch said.
WATCH: Dozens gather at University of Cincinnati to talk about all things data centers:
Along with local experts, representatives from 17 communities throughout Ohio joined the discussion.
It focused on concerns like environmental and financial impact on small communities.
Putsch said he believes small communities are being taken advantage of.
“They’re here to take advantage of our electricity; it will skyrocket the cost for everybody," Putsch said.
We asked Putsch why he believes Ohio is seeing an increase in proposed data centers.
“We have good infrastructure, we have relatively inexpensive power generation for them to take advantage of and, of course, massive fresh water they need for cooling," Putsch said.
Supporters of data centers argue the projects would create more jobs and bring economic growth to cities.
Brett Skyllingstad, who works with the developer of a proposed data center in Trenton, told us at their town hall earlier this month that there's a lot of misinformation about them.
“I think it’s perfectly natural for any community when they don’t truly understand what is going into these projects and what the end result is, they can get nervous," Skyllingstad said.
Another concern we've heard from residents in our coverage of data centers relates to the transparency of the projects.
Congressman Greg Landsman said he's working on legislation to address those concerns.
“We wanted to make sure folks knew we’re leading on this," Landsman said.
Landsman attended Saturday's discussion at UC.
He said he's introduced legislation on data centers with two specifics in mind: prohibiting elected officials from signing non-disclosure agreements on data centers and protecting taxpayers.
“Our bill, Do No Damage Data Centers, requires these big tech companies to pay all of the energy, everything,” Landsman said.
Organizers of Saturday's discussion said they knew data centers are likely inevitable in some areas.
They said that's why they want to educate residents so they can be prepared.
“It is specifically for all the people to come together, bring the brain power, and how we can, frankly, push back,” Putsch said.
