Data Centers: The Next Wave

In a recent TOP article, we mentioned how the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) of Urbana, Ohio quietly sold a parcel of land near Cedar Bog to a company that is proposing to build a data center adjacent to US 68, about 2 miles north of the Bog.

Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and potable water, so citizens are understandably quite upset about this.

But make no mistake: The proliferation of data centers is not just a local issue. All of Ohio is under threat - and all of America as well.

Data centers are all the rage these days, of course - Mainly because they provide the infrastructure for the race toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption and other high-capacity computing "needs."

The "justification" is the usual thing: We're told that we have to keep up with the Joneses (China). For anyone who thinks solar or wind was bad . . . well, hang on tight!

Here's a quick timeline of sorts, an overview of the current data center landscape - or should we say "land grab?"

July 23, 2025

Trump Administration Executive Order 14318:

ACCELERATING FEDERAL PERMITTING OF DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE

click the image to read in full

This is a part of the Trump Administration's broader America's AI Action Plan, published on July 10, 2025, which is aimed at promoting the rapid build-out of data centers. In President Trump's own words:

“Today, a new frontier of scientific discovery lies before us, defined by transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence… Breakthroughs in these fields have the potential to reshape the global balance of power, spark entirely new industries, and revolutionize the way we live and work. As our global competitors race to exploit these technologies, it is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance. To secure our future, we must harness the full power of American innovation.”

Executive Order 14318 has not yet gone through the Congressional legislative processes. However it is currently in effect for the Executive Branch, and money is certainly moving around in anticipation of what's to come. That's because E.O. 14318 clearly lays out the federal "financial support" scheme - meaning loans, loan guarantees, grants, tax incentives, offtake agreements, etc.

This means that the race is now on to build more data centers across the country.

Lots of data centers.

It's the usual sort of thing: New data centers - which are surely the latest pet project of the elites - will be funded to a large extent by federal debt-based money that's created out of thin air, and eventually paid for by everyday people via inflation.

December 15, 2025

Here's a snapshot showing the number and locations of data centers at the end of 2025:

These are big numbers! You can see 203 data centers in Ohio alone.

March 31, 2026

As of yesterday, here's all the new data centers that are now under construction:

Again, these are big numbers. And it clearly shows that the build-out is definitely underway.

Never mind the U.S. Congress.

By the way: Computing capacity is doubling about every 2 years nowadays, so by the time a brand new data center is built and operational (which takes around 18 to 36 months), it's already obsolete.

So, an obvious question to ask is this: Wouldn't it be more efficient to upgrade existing data centers, rather than build a bunch of brand new ones?

Of course, the answer is "yes." But perhaps all this is not about computing efficiency. Perhaps it's about something else.

What are your thoughts?

Do you think we need 203 data centers in Ohio, plus the 51 new ones that are now under construction?

Because someone certainly does!