Ramaswamy Pitches Free Electricity For Ohio Communities Hosting Data Centers
India-West News Desk
CINCINNATI, OH – Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is proposing new restrictions on data centers, saying the facilities should be allowed to expand in the state only if they provide clear financial and environmental benefits to the communities where they are built.
Ramaswamy’s proposal comes as all three candidates for Ohio governor, Republican, Democrat and Libertarian, have called for some form of moratorium or restrictions on new data centers unless specific conditions are met.
Democrat Amy Acton announced her plan in July, followed by Libertarian Don Kissick in early August. Ramaswamy has now unveiled his proposal several days later.
Ramaswamy has not called for an outright ban on the facilities. He has previously argued that Ohio needs data centers to store and process data and that a total ban would be harmful to the state’s economy.
Instead, his proposal would stop approval of new data centers until a set of requirements is established.
One of his most notable proposals would require data center operators to pay the electricity bills of the communities where their facilities are located. “Free electricity for local communities paid for by the data centers combined with lowering property taxes as a condition, I think it’s going to be something that sets Ohio up as a national model for how we deal with this issue,” Ramaswamy said Aug. 7.
He also wants new data centers to pay full property taxes. That revenue, he said, could help provide property tax relief for homeowners.
Environmental protections would also be part of his plan. Ramaswamy wants strict standards for air and water quality and would prioritize brownfields over fertile farmland for new facilities. “Air and water quality is no worse off, and that we’re prioritizing brownfield sites that are abandoned rather than interrupting fertile farmland,” he said.
Ramaswamy has said he would move quickly if elected, promising an executive order on his first day in office halting approval of new data centers until the legislature passes his proposed framework.
