Trenton Township Trustees Raise Concerns Over Proposed Sunbury Data Center Rezoning

By 1808Delaware

Officials in neighboring Trenton Township are urging the City of Sunbury to proceed cautiously as it considers a rezoning request that could allow construction of a large data center complex on recently annexed land.

In a letter dated March 4, the Trenton Township Board of Trustees expressed unanimous concern about the proposal, which involves approximately 330 acres that were previously part of the township before annexation by the City of Sunbury. The trustees warned that the rapid growth of data centers in central Ohio could have significant consequences for residents in both communities.

Rising Energy Demand and Costs

A central issue raised in the letter is the enormous electricity demand associated with large-scale data centers. According to the trustees, published statistics suggest that a single large data center can consume an amount of electricity comparable to the needs of a city of roughly 40,000 residents.

“Published statistics show that a large scale data center’s demand for electricity is comparable to the total electrical requirements of a community of 40,000 residents, about the size of Westerville,” the trustees wrote.

They argue that the expansion of data centers in the region has already affected energy costs for households. The letter states that increased electricity demand has required American Electric Power (AEP) to purchase additional power from the national grid, with those costs ultimately passed along to residential customers.

“Estimated cost increases to home owners in the past year range from 7.4% to 13%,” the trustees wrote.

The board also raised a broader concern about long-term grid stability, suggesting that continued growth of large-scale data centers could potentially strain the electrical system over the next decade.

Water Usage Concerns

Another major issue cited by the township trustees is water consumption. Data centers require significant cooling capacity, and that process can require large volumes of water depending on the facility design. According to the letter, a data center’s water demand can range from roughly 1 million to 15 million gallons per day. For comparison, the trustees noted that the Del-Co Water Company currently delivers about 23 million gallons of water per day to approximately 150,000 customers in central Ohio. They warned that the system has already faced challenges during dry periods when demand rises.

The trustees also cautioned that if a facility were to rely on groundwater wells instead of municipal water supplies, it could affect nearby residents who depend on wells for household and agricultural use.

“Alternatively if a data center opted to obtain some or their entire water requirement through a well field it would have a significant, negative effect on nearby residents in the area who use a well as their only source of water for residential and agricultural requirements,” the letter states.

Call for Delay or Referendum

The Trenton Township trustees concluded their letter by encouraging Sunbury officials to consider slowing the approval process. Specifically, they suggested the city look at measures adopted by other Ohio communities that have imposed long-term delays or placed data center zoning decisions before voters.

“We urge you to consider having Sunbury join the growing list of local communities whose elected officials have adopted long term delays and referendums on issuing rezoning permits for data centers,” the trustees wrote.

The letter cites several communities that have taken similar steps, including Dublin, Jerome Township, South Bloomfield, Washington Township, and West Jefferson.