OpenAI's Half-Trillion Dollar Data Center Sparks Power Battle
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OpenAI's plans for a colossal half-trillion-dollar data center in Ohio are hitting major roadblocks. This 10-gigawatt campus, powerful enough to rival 10 nuclear reactors, faces immediate regulatory pushback and growing local resistance.
Ohio lawmakers are moving to ensure hyperscalers, not everyday residents, cover the immense power costs. This isn't an isolated incident, as other major data center projects nationwide are being delayed or canceled due to concerns over energy, water, and land use, signaling a potential strain on the broader AI investment landscape.
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Transcript
Open AI is in advanced talks to lease a massive 10 gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio. A project so large, it could cost over half a trillion dollars. That's 10 gigawatts, roughly the output of 10 large nuclear reactors, enough to power millions of homes. The first phase is expected online by 2028 with financial backing reportedly from Nvidia. But this record-sized build-out is already facing a regulatory pushback. Ohio law makers have introduced substitute House Bill 646, creating a new electric rate class for data centers to ensure that hyperscalers, not everyday ratepayers, foot the bill for the massive power demands. And it's not just Ohio. A growing number of data center projects are being delayed, scaled back, or canceled due to local resistance over power, water, and land use. Oracle and Open AI recently abandoned plans to expand a flagship AI data center in Texas. Meanwhile, the broader industry is showing signs of strain. Goldman Sachs estimates hyperscalers will spend $800 billion on data center CapEx this year alone. Meta borrowed $30 billion to fund AI ambitions. And Open AI's sudden shutdown of its Sora video app, citing unsustainable costs, has fueled debate over ...
