Scioto Analysis Recommends 90% Renewable-Energy Requirement for New Ohio Data Centers
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A cost-benefit analysis by Columbus-based Scioto Analysis, reported by The Highland County Press, identifies a requirement for new Ohio data centers to use 90% renewable energy as its preferred economic scenario. The study’s second-ranked option is a ban on new data-center construction; neither recommendation represents enacted Ohio policy.
- Scioto Analysis ranked a 90% renewable-energy requirement for new Ohio data centers as its preferred economic scenario.
- A ban on new data-center construction was the study’s next-best modeled option, not an enacted restriction.
- The study projects a 50% increase in Ohio data-center count by 2028 if all planned projects enter service.
- Under that same condition, annual sector electricity use and carbon emissions are projected to more than triple.
- The findings could increase policy risk around power sourcing and approvals for future Ohio data-center development.
Scioto Analysis has concluded that Ohio would derive the greatest economic benefit from requiring all new data centers to use at least 90% renewable energy, according to reporting by The Highland County Press. The Columbus-based firm ranked a prohibition on further data-center construction as the next-most-attractive modeled option.
The findings are an assessment of potential future development rather than a description of adopted regulation. The study credits the sector with 96,000 new jobs and $62 billion in social benefits in Ohio since 2013, while also highlighting the power-system, emissions and fiscal implications of continued expansion. It says data-center tax breaks have resulted in $2.3 billion in subsidies.
Under the study’s conditional 2028 outlook—assuming every planned project enters service—Ohio’s data-center count would increase by 50%. Annual electricity consumption and carbon emissions from the sector would each more than triple, according to the analysis. These are projections tied to planned projects, not evidence that the associated capacity has been built or commissioned.
The article places Ohio fourth among US states by data-center count. It also reports that Ohio data centers in 2026 consume electricity equivalent to that used by 5.7 million homes, compared with 5.4 million homes in the state. By 2028, the study projects sector consumption equivalent to the electricity use of about 3.5 times the number of homes in Ohio, contingent on the planned-project assumption.
For operators, hyperscalers and energy suppliers, the analysis points to a potential tightening of expectations around the energy mix serving new facilities. Should its conclusions shape state policy, renewable-power procurement and the evidencing of renewable supply could become more material to site development, while permitting risk for new campuses could rise. Those outcomes remain an inference: the reported recommendations have not been described as Ohio policy.
The analysis adds to the policy and public-pressure risk surrounding data-center growth in Ohio, where power demand, carbon emissions and tax incentives are under scrutiny. If such findings influence state policy, developers and operators could face stricter renewable-power procurement requirements and more difficult approvals for new sites, while demand for verifiable renewable generation could increase.
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