The same company building a natural gas power plant in New Albany's business park just lost a unanimous Ohio Supreme Court fight over a nearly identical project in Pickaway County.
The court's Aug. 7 ruling ordered the village of Ashville to certify a referendum petition challenging EdgeConneX's plan to build two data centers and an on-site natural gas power plant on 195 acres of village-owned land. Ashville residents collected more than 660 signatures, but the referendum is not guaranteed a spot on the November 2026 ballot. The Pickaway County Board of Elections could still block it if it determines the village council's resolution was an administrative action rather than legislation subject to referendum.
The ruling struck down Ashville's attempt to declare the deal an emergency, which would have made it effective immediately and immune to a public vote. The court found the village council's stated reason for urgency, preventing "unnecessary delay," was not specific enough to justify bypassing the 30-day waiting period.
Columbus Business First reported Tuesday that the opinion continues to raise questions about the Pickaway County project.
New Albany connection
EdgeConneX's subsidiary PowerConnex is building a stand-alone 216-megawatt natural gas power plant on 170 acres in the New Albany International Business Park, fed by a 24-mile pipeline under construction from Granville Township. Phase one of that pipeline is scheduled for completion in September 2027.
New Albany's own FAQ page acknowledges that "as much as one gigawatt of power is anticipated to be generated" in the business park using behind-the-meter natural gas generation, regulated by the Ohio Power Siting Board. The city has close to 40 data centers, according to Development Director Jennifer Chrysler, who cited that figure at the April 21 council meeting.
Residents have pressed city officials on the issue. At the same April 21 meeting, resident Brad Sibley asked about "a natural gas plant being put in" and what would happen if it caused air pollution or health problems. At the Sept. 16, 2025 meeting, resident Thomas Leukhart said he had studied gas-burning generating systems "coming soon" and encouraged council to research them.
A pattern across Ohio
The Ashville case is not isolated. A second Ohio Supreme Court data center dispute, involving the city of Trenton in Butler County, was still pending as of Aug. 9. In that case, residents gathered signatures for a charter amendment restricting data centers, but the city challenged the signature threshold.
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who represents the nonprofit Data Center Resistance, filed a brief in the Ashville case arguing the dispute extends far beyond one village. "You don't have to be a lawyer to understand that making somebody rich by opening a data center is not an emergency," Dann told Cleveland.com.
Pataskala and Sunbury have already approved ordinances placing hyperscale data center bans on the November 2026 ballot, where voters will decide whether to prohibit facilities using 25 megawatts or more per month.
No New Albany city official has publicly commented on the Ashville ruling or its implications for the business park's gas power infrastructure. The Ohio Supreme Court must rule on the Trenton case before mid-September, when election officials finalize ballots for overseas and military voters.
