OH — State Policy Updated 2026-07-17

Ohio

State sales/use tax exemption for data centers Job Creation Tax Credit (JCTC) - generally applicable Job Retention Tax Credit (JRTC) - generally applicable Property tax abatements - Enterprise Zones Property tax abatements - Community Reinvestment Areas Pending incentive reforms Utility tariff constraints Other utility tariff proceedings and proposals Local moratoriums / zoning pauses Statewide ballot initiative Environmental constraints Utility Regulation

Last updated: 2026-07-17 (local time).

1) Incentive programs

State sales/use tax exemption for data centers

  • Program: Ohio’s data center sales/use tax exemption covers qualifying computer data center equipment, software, and related purchases tied to a qualifying “data center,” codified at ORC 122.175. Ohio Revised Code 122.175, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Eligibility thresholds: For agreements entered after Sept. 29, 2015, the operator must commit to at least $100 million in capital investment over 3 years and annualized payroll of at least $1.5 million starting in the 25th month after the agreement starts. Ohio Revised Code 122.175, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Duration: The exemption runs for the term of the agreement approved by the Tax Credit Authority. Ohio Revised Code 122.175, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Clean energy conditions: The statute specifies investment and payroll thresholds but does not include explicit clean-energy or renewable-procurement requirements in the eligibility criteria. Ohio Revised Code 122.175, accessed 2026-06-10
  • 2026 status change: Gov. Mike DeWine directed the Ohio Tax Credit Authority to pause consideration of new data center tax exemption requests after its June 1, 2026 meeting while the General Assembly’s data center review work proceeds; the pause does not itself repeal ORC 122.175 or undo already approved agreements. Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (archived), 2026-05-27
  • Last pending approval before pause: On June 1, 2026, the Tax Credit Authority approved a 50%, 10-year sales tax exemption for Cologix projects in Delaware and Licking Counties, estimated at $42.3 million, tied to $1.17 billion of investment, 90 full-time jobs by 2035, and $10 million in payroll. Signal Cleveland, 2026-06-01
  • Ark Data Centers approval: On March 2, 2026, the Tax Credit Authority approved a 50%, 10-year exemption worth more than $4.5 million for Ark Data Centers’ $136 million expansion in Akron and Independence, tied to 10 new full-time jobs. Signal Akron, 2026-03-05

Job Creation Tax Credit (JCTC) - generally applicable

  • Program: ORC 122.17 authorizes a refundable job creation tax credit tied to new payroll under a development agreement.
  • Duration/retention: Agreements can run up to 15 years, and recipients must maintain operations in Ohio for the greater of 7 years or the agreement term plus 3 years. Ohio Revised Code 122.17, accessed 2026-06-10

Job Retention Tax Credit (JRTC) - generally applicable

Property tax abatements - Enterprise Zones (EZ)

  • Municipal EZ (incorporated areas): ORC 5709.62 allows cities to grant property tax exemptions up to 75% for up to 15 years via an enterprise zone agreement; applications must disclose investment, payroll, and job-creation/retention. Ohio Revised Code 5709.62, accessed 2026-06-10
  • County EZ (unincorporated areas): ORC 5709.63 allows counties to grant exemptions up to 60% for up to 15 years, and megaprojects can qualify for up to 100% for up to 30 years. Ohio Revised Code 5709.63, accessed 2026-06-10

Property tax abatements - Community Reinvestment Areas (CRA)

Pending incentive reforms

  • HB 646 substitute proposal (Senate Energy, June 2026): A June 9 Senate substitute proposal for HB 646 would reduce the existing 100% sales-tax exemption for future data center projects to a 50%-75% range, with the higher rate tied to brownfield locations or outside power generation, and would limit local tax abatements to 50%; reporting indicates existing long-term agreements for major firms would largely remain unaffected. The Senate reported and informally passed the bill on June 10 but then recommitted it to the Energy Committee, where it remained as of July 17; it was not enacted before the summer recess. The Statehouse News Bureau, 2026-06-09 Ohio House HB 646 status, 2026-06-10
  • SB 374 (introduced March 11, 2026): Would limit data center sales-tax exemptions beginning Oct. 1, 2027; as of July 17, 2026, it remained in the Senate Finance Committee after its March 25 referral. Ohio Senate SB 374 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • HB 957 (introduced May 27, 2026): Would amend ORC 122.175 to prohibit new data center sales-tax exemptions from being granted. As of July 17 it remained in House Ways and Means and had not been reported. Ohio Legislature HB 957 status, accessed 2026-07-17

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

Utility tariff constraints (AEP Ohio)

  • Schedule DCT (Data Center Tariff): Applies to new or increased data center loads >= 25,000 kW in AEP Ohio territory and requires a minimum demand commitment structure intended to reduce cost-shifting from speculative or under-used load. AEP Ohio Data Center Tariff page, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Regulatory status: PUCO approved the DCT settlement on July 9, 2025; AEP filed the compliance tariff July 11, 2025; and the tariff became effective July 23, 2025. AEP Ohio Data Center Tariff page, accessed 2026-06-10
  • 2026 implementation update: AEP Ohio told PUCO that, as of Feb. 12, 2026, data centers had signed binding contracts for 5,642 MW under the tariff, in addition to 12,219 MW signed before the tariff; AEP said total contracted data center projects stood at 17,861 MW, compared with pre-tariff expressions of interest exceeding 30,000 MW. AEP Ohio, 2026-02-13
  • Appeal: The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group challenged the PUCO-approved AEP tariff in the Ohio Supreme Court, Case No. 2025-1458. Merits briefing concluded on March 24, and no merits decision had issued as of July 17, 2026. Supreme Court of Ohio, 2026-03-24

Other utility tariff proceedings and proposals

  • FirstEnergy filing: After PUCO directed FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities to create a separate data center class, Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating, and Toledo Edison filed proposed Schedule DCT on June 12. The proposal has no minimum-load threshold; it uses a ramped contract load plus a 10-year term, minimum billing at the greater of actual demand or 85% of contract capacity, collateral requirements, and exclusion of new data center load from FirstEnergy’s transmission-billing pilot. It remained a proposal, not an approved tariff, on July 17. Brakey Energy, 2026-07-01
  • AES Ohio proceeding: In AES Ohio’s pending three-year rate-plan case, PUCO staff recommended a separate data center tariff; the proposal remained contested and undecided as of July 17. Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, 2026-05-29
  • HB 706: A bipartisan House bill would establish statewide minimum requirements for data center electric-service agreements, including long-term service agreements, cost-recovery limits, load-study deposits, milestone requirements, financial assurances, and restrictions on utilities shifting data-center-caused costs to other customer classes. It received committee hearings through June 3 but remained in House Energy and was not enacted as of July 17. Ohio House HB 706 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • SB 381: Would require PUCO approval before connecting certain data centers to the electric grid; as of July 17, 2026, it remained in the Senate Public Utilities Committee. Ohio Senate SB 381 status, accessed 2026-07-17

Local moratoriums / zoning pauses

  • Statewide pattern: Local restrictions accelerated in 2026. The Statehouse News Bureau reported on Feb. 26 that roughly 18 Ohio municipalities were considering or had enacted data center moratoriums, and on June 1 reported that more than 50 local governments had data center moratoriums based on its analysis. The Statehouse News Bureau, 2026-02-26 The Statehouse News Bureau, 2026-06-01
  • Jerome Township (Union County): Adopted a 9-month moratorium on new data center applications on Sept. 3, 2025; that term ran into early June 2026 absent an extension found in this refresh. Reporting also indicates moratoriums have had mixed effectiveness, with Jerome Township approving some permits after the pause was in place. WOSU Public Media, 2025-09-09 The Allegheny Front, 2026-02-26
  • Kent: Adopted Ordinance 2026-31 imposing a temporary moratorium, not to exceed one year, on granting or issuing permits for AI data centers while the city reviews zoning, infrastructure, utilities, environmental, and resident impacts. City of Kent Ordinance 2026-31, 2026-05
  • Findlay: City Council approved Ordinance 2026-042, a 12-month moratorium on establishment, conversion, development, or construction of data centers, by a 9-1 vote on April 21, 2026. WFIN, 2026-04-22
  • Williamsburg: Adopted Ordinance 1249-26 imposing a 2026 data center moratorium. Village of Williamsburg Ordinance 1249-26, 2026-03-12
  • Jackson Township and Pleasant Township (Franklin County): Jackson Township trustees voted in late May 2026 for a one-year moratorium covering unincorporated township land; nearby Pleasant Township also approved a data center moratorium in 2026. 614Now, 2026-05-29
  • Cleveland: The city rejected a permit application for a proposed $1.6 billion, 35-acre Slavic Village hyperscale data center requiring 150 MW. On July 15, City Council then approved a three-month pause on new or expanded standalone principal-use data centers through Oct. 16, with authority to extend it for three more months. Ideastream Public Media, 2026-05-14 City of Cleveland, 2026-07-15
  • Dublin: On July 1, City Council approved Ordinance 33-26, removing data centers as permitted or conditional uses throughout the West Innovation District and creating an ID-6 Research Transition District with new screening and setback standards. City of Dublin, 2026-07-02
  • Clayton: On July 16, City Council adopted Resolution R-07-26-46, an immediate 365-day moratorium on processing zoning, conditional-use, or building-permit applications for data processing centers. City of Clayton, 2026-07-16
  • Dayton: After imposing a 180-day moratorium in April, the City Commission voted June 24 to make data centers a prohibited use in the city zoning code, citing water, electric-rate, environmental, and limited municipal-revenue concerns. WOSU Public Media, 2026-06-22 Dayton Daily News, 2026-06-24
  • Urbana: The city imposed a 12-month moratorium and reversed prior land-use approvals affecting Thor Equities’ proposed $1 billion, roughly 230-acre project. Thor and affiliated landowners filed a federal complaint against the city on June 19 after reporting $19.6 million in preliminary spending; the project remained disputed rather than approved or under construction at the cutoff. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio docket, 2026-06-19 Data Center Dynamics, 2026-06-23

Statewide ballot initiative

  • Proposed constitutional amendment did not qualify for 2026: Ohio Residents for Responsible Development / Conserve Ohio pursued an amendment that would prohibit construction of data centers with peak monthly load greater than 25 MW. The Ohio Secretary of State confirmed before the July 1 filing deadline that no active statewide petition campaign planned to file for the 2026 ballot, so this measure will not appear in November 2026; its petition remains listed as circulating and could be pursued for a later election. Ohio Secretary of State, 2026-06-26 Ohio Secretary of State, accessed 2026-07-17

Environmental constraints (statewide frameworks)

  • High-volume water withdrawals: Ohio law requires registration and annual reporting for facilities capable of withdrawing more than 100,000 gallons/day from surface or ground water, which can be relevant for data center cooling. Ohio Revised Code 1521.16, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Pending water-reporting bills: HB 784 would require monthly and annual water-consumption reports and prohibit local-government NDAs covering those data; SB 378 also addresses responsible water use. Neither proposal had advanced out of committee or been enacted as of July 17. Ohio House HB 784 status, accessed 2026-07-17 Ohio Senate SB 378 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • 2026 water-readiness study: An Ohio Chamber Research Foundation study estimated a Central Ohio base case of 28.8 million gallons per day of direct data center water consumption in 2030, with a modeled range of 5.1-43.7 MGD. It concluded aggregate source water was sufficient in the near term but identified local infrastructure, wastewater, watershed protection, and transparency as the material constraints. Ohio Chamber Research Foundation, 2026-06-08 WOSU Public Media, 2026-06-18

3) Local governance and preemption

  • Zoning authority is local: Ohio statutes delegate zoning authority to municipalities (ORC 713), townships (ORC 519), and counties (ORC 303), indicating local governments generally set land-use rules that govern data center siting. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 303, accessed 2026-06-10 Ohio Revised Code Chapter 519, accessed 2026-06-10 Ohio Revised Code Chapter 713, accessed 2026-06-10
  • No express statewide preemption identified: A review of the above zoning enabling statutes shows no explicit state preemption of local data-center-specific land-use regulation.
  • NDA/transparency proposals: HB 695 would prohibit certain local officials from entering into nondisclosure agreements that bar discussion of official-duty matters. It received committee hearings through June 3 but remained in House Local Government and was not enacted as of July 17. Ohio House HB 695 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Community opposition patterns: Concerns reported in 2026 include noise, water use, wastewater, electricity costs, environmental impacts, loss of farmland, tax incentives, and nondisclosure agreements. The Statehouse News Bureau, 2026-06-01
  • Middleton Township / Meta: Trustees voted 2-1 on July 7 to rezone 31.82 acres bordering Meta’s future hyperscale campus despite the zoning commission’s recommendation against the change. Opponents then began a referendum petition drive, making the expansion-related rezoning a live local dispute at the cutoff. BG Independent News, 2026-07-07

4) Legislative activity (2024-2026)

  • Session outcome through July 17: No data-center-specific bill reviewed below had been enacted by the July 17 cutoff. The General Assembly remained in session, so the measures are pending rather than dead unless stated otherwise. Ohio Legislature bill search, accessed 2026-07-17
  • HB 96 (136th GA, 2025-2026 state budget): A 2025 line-item veto in HB 96 preserved the data center sales/use tax exemption by blocking language that would have ended or limited new agreements; the exemption remained available under ORC 122.175 until the May 2026 administrative pause on new Tax Credit Authority consideration. The Statehouse News Bureau, 2026-05-27
  • HB 646: Introduced Jan. 14 to create a Data Center Study Commission and passed the House March 18. The Senate’s June substitute broadened the bill to address incentives, local abatements, water, rate classes, and transparency. The Senate reported and informally passed it June 10, then recommitted it to Energy; its official status on July 17 was “As Recommitted to the Senate Energy Committee,” not enacted. Ohio House HB 646 status, 2026-06-10 Ohio House HB 646 current version, accessed 2026-07-17
  • HB 706: Introduced Feb. 17 to impose minimum requirements on data center customers and electric-service agreements; after hearings through June 3, it remained in House Energy as of July 17. Ohio House HB 706 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • HB 710: Introduced Feb. 24 and referred to House General Government on Feb. 25, it would prohibit public financial support for new data centers, restrict construction on prime farmland, public land, and near residential areas, and assign attributable generation and grid-upgrade costs to developers. It remained at the introduced stage as of July 17. Ohio House, 2026-02-20 Ohio House HB 710 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • HB 695: Introduced Feb. 12 to restrict certain local-government NDAs; after hearings through June 3, it remained in House Local Government as of July 17. Ohio House HB 695 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • HB 957: Introduced May 27 to prohibit new data center sales-tax exemptions; it remained in House Ways and Means as of July 17. Ohio Legislature HB 957 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • SB 374: Introduced March 11 to limit data center sales-tax exemptions; it remained in Senate Finance as of July 17. Ohio Senate SB 374 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • SB 378 / HB 784: Water-use and disclosure proposals remained pending in their respective committees as of July 17. Ohio Senate SB 378 status, accessed 2026-07-17 Ohio House HB 784 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • SB 381: Would require PUCO approval to connect certain data centers to the electrical grid; it remained pending in Senate Public Utilities as of July 17. Ohio Senate SB 381 status, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Select Committee / Joint Data Center Committee: The bipartisan committee held roughly 20 hours of hearings on economic, environmental, grid, water, local-government, and national-security issues. By June 18, legislative leaders said the work would continue through HB 646, but the committee produced no enacted policy before the summer recess. Ohio Senate, 2026-06-18

5) Notable projects and operators

  • Amazon (AWS): Previously announced plans to invest $10 billion in Ohio data centers and related operations, including major sites in Fayette and Licking Counties. Amazon, 2024-12-16
  • Google: Operates data centers in New Albany, Columbus, and Lancaster, with $7.2 billion in investment since 2019 company-reported before this refresh. Google Data Centers - Ohio, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Microsoft - New Albany, Heath, and Hebron: The April 2025 pause is itself outdated. Site work began at Heath and Hebron in February 2026, and Microsoft now says it is building at all three Licking County campuses. Its June impact statement projects three first buildings operational by the end of 2029, about 350 construction roles annually and approximately 50 employees per building after opening. Microsoft Heath construction update, accessed 2026-07-17 Microsoft Hebron construction update, accessed 2026-07-17 Microsoft, 2026-06
  • Meta: New Albany described Meta’s Prometheus data center development and its power-supply plans in public statements. City of New Albany, 2025-06-03
  • SoftBank / SB Energy - PORTS Technology Campus (Pike County): DOE announced a public-private partnership at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant for a 10 GW data center campus powered by 10 GW of new generation, including at least 9.2 GW of natural gas generation, with $4.2 billion of transmission infrastructure in partnership with AEP Ohio and a $40 million community benefits agreement. U.S. Department of Energy, 2026-03-20
  • Adams County: A new data center at the former Dayton Power & Light landfill site was confirmed via an AES Ohio/PJM load filing, starting at 100 MW in 2028 and rising to 1.3 GW by 2032; reporting also noted an Army Corps permit and local opposition. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-03-12
  • Cleveland Slavic Village: A proposed $1.6 billion, 35-acre, 150 MW hyperscale campus was rejected during city zoning review in May 2026. Ideastream Public Media, 2026-05-14
  • QTS - Van Wert: Van Wert and QTS announced a proposed data center campus with approximately $10 billion of capital investment, $200 million of projected tax revenue over 20 years, more than 1,500 construction jobs, and about 200 full-time QTS positions. QTS says the campus will use closed-loop cooling once operational and will fund 100% of necessary energy infrastructure improvements. QTS / City of Van Wert, 2026-05-29 QTS Van Wert FAQ, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Cologix - Delaware and Licking Counties: The June 1 Tax Credit Authority approval covers two Cologix projects: a Delaware County site initially at 25 MW and potentially 75 MW, and a Johnstown/Licking County site initially at 75 MW and potentially 176 MW. Signal Cleveland, 2026-06-01
  • Aligned - Pataskala: Aligned proposed a three-building, 200 MW campus on about 89 acres. On June 3, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend denial; City Council scheduled the final public hearing for Aug. 25, so the project remained pending rather than approved as of July 17. Newark Advocate, 2026-06-30
  • Thor Equities - Urbana: A proposed $1 billion, roughly 230-acre campus was stopped by a city moratorium and reversal of prior land-use approvals; Thor filed federal suit June 19. The lawsuit, not construction, was the project’s current status at the cutoff. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio docket, 2026-06-19 Data Center Dynamics, 2026-06-23
  • Prologis “Project Mila” - Trenton: On March 30, Trenton’s Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve the site plan for a four-building, approximately 880,000-square-foot data center campus on roughly 141 acres. The city’s April 6 council report said staff and the developer were still working through water, sanitary-sewer, and stormwater technical reviews, so site-plan approval did not end the infrastructure review. City of Trenton Weekly Council Report, 2026-04-06 WVXU, 2026-03-30
  • MARA / Long Ridge - Hannibal: On April 30, MARA agreed to acquire Long Ridge Energy & Power for about $1.5 billion, including its 505 MW combined-cycle gas plant and more than 1,600 acres beside MARA’s existing Hannibal data center. MARA said 200 MW was immediately available, with a path to as much as 600 MW of AI/critical-IT load; initial new construction is targeted for the first half of 2027 and service in mid-2028, subject to transaction and regulatory approvals. MARA, 2026-04-30
  • Ark Data Centers - Akron and Independence: Ark received a 50%, 10-year state sales-tax exemption worth more than $4.5 million for a $136 million expansion expected to add 10 full-time jobs. Signal Akron, 2026-03-05