Signs protesting data centers can be seen along the streets of Portage County in light of a proposed 750-megawatt data center to be built in Shalersville Township, around 12 miles from Kent State University.
Shalersville Township held a town hall meeting June 16 with Bitdeer, the company building the project, to speak to area residents. Many expressed their disapproval with the data center being built in their neighborhood.
At the meeting, District 72 state representative Heidi Workman mentioned that legislation aimed at addressing data centers was in the works but has not passed into law yet.
According to the Ohio Legislature website, House Bill 646 was informally passed by the Senate on June 10. This allows the bill to be voted on at a later date. There have been no updates on the bill since then.
Shalersville has a moratorium in place banning data centers until November. Other areas in Northeast Ohio are doing the same.
In April 2026, the City of Kent passed a one-year moratorium to allow the city to determine if they have the necessary resources to support data centers and how the centers will impact the welfare of the city and residents.
Grassroots organizations around Kent and Portage County have expressed outrage and concern over data centers being built in the area.
“For myself and most of the people I’ve spoken to, there is a general feeling that the Bitdeer data center proposal will not enrich Shalersville, at least, not enough to offset the environmental and community costs,” said Jessica Winchell, the leader of Portage Residents for Responsible Development. “Shalersville is a community of people who place high value on fresh air and quiet nights. The data center is a threat to those things.”
Portage Residents for Responsible Development is a group of about 2,600 members that advocates against data centers in Portage County. The group also collects signatures aiming to bring an amendment to the ballot that would ban data centers from being built in Ohio.
Another group taking action is the Kent Environmental Council. Founded in 1970, the group aims to promote a sustainable environment through education and serving the community.
Kent Environmental Council advocacy member Brad Brotje recently wrote a Letter to the Editor to The Portager. In it, he explained the council is reviewing the flood of information on data centers to understand the impact they will have on the area’s communities.
“When I wrote that piece, I had to decide I’m going to write it now. Because if I waited two days, there’d be more information, and more information and contradictory information,” Brotje said. “At some point, you have to let history unfold and say, ‘This is where we are at this point.’”
According to Brotje, the letter is the “biggest effort” the group has made yet in an attempt “to stop data centers.”
Winchell encourages residents looking to take action to visit www.conserveohio.com to see how they can add their signature to the petition.
“They should also contact their representatives locally and in Washington DC to let them know they are tired of unregulated data center expansion in Ohio,” Winchell said.
Despite the issue becoming increasingly political, Winchell has seen voters on both sides of party lines agree.
“In my experience, anti-data center sentiment is bipartisan, and most voters, whether they vote red or blue, are against big data’s unchecked growth,” Winchell said.
Brotje mentioned environmental concerns with the centers, including where and how they would get their power and their water usage.
“It’s mind-boggling, the amount of water being used,” Brotje said. “Water is not an infinite source.”
If the data center were to be built in the area, Brotje said it would mean “that we failed.”
“Contact your city councils, your township people,” Brotje said. “That’s hugely important. But it’s got to be done soon because if it isn’t, then it’s too late.”
Loreal Puleo is a staff writer. Contact her at [email protected].
