From her front window in Wood County, Ohio, daycare operator Breanne Kidd once watched sunrises over farmland as she prepared for the day. Over the past year, that rural scene transformed into an active construction site as crews erected cranes, steel and infrastructure for an 800-acre data center development financed by Meta. Nearby, developers also began building a large natural gas-fueled power plant intended to serve that data center - a facility Kidd says she was not informed about and that now sits across the street from her property.
"It’s not like we’re two streets away. We’re literally across the street," Kidd said, pointing toward the Apollo Generating Station. "I’m living next to a threat." The Apollo facility is sited in Wood County, roughly 25 miles south of Toledo.
Reuters reporting shows the Apollo project is one of dozens of large off-grid power plants across the United States that are being developed specifically to supply single data centers and that have advanced through approval processes at an accelerated pace, sometimes in a matter of weeks or months. These facilities are being built without the multi-year permitting, environmental study cycles and public hearings that typically accompany comparable electricity-generation projects.
Developers and some regulators contend that these privately financed plants - commonly described as off-grid because they are dedicated to a single customer and not interconnected to the public transmission system - are exempt from many of the traditional public review requirements. That approach has in many cases carried the result that nearby communities receive minimal advance notice about projects that will affect local air emissions and the climate.
How quickly projects are moving
At the Apollo site, Ohio regulators approved the project via the Ohio Power Siting Board on February 3, less than three months after the developer submitted plans. Records show the state’s draft air permit did not appear in the public record until March, after construction had already begun. Public filings identified the client for the facility as Liames LLC, a subsidiary name rather than the well-known corporate sponsor Meta.
Research firm Cleanview provided data indicating that at least 57 similar off-grid U.S. power plants are proposed or underway to serve individual data centers, with a combined generating capacity of roughly 73,000 megawatts - a level of generation equivalent to what could power tens of millions of homes. Reuters also identified more than a dozen projects that gained approval in under a year, often with limited or no public notice to impacted residents.
Some of these projects are already operating. Reuters’ review notes that SpaceX’s xAI facility outside Memphis and another plant in Ashburn, Virginia serving Vantage Data Centers are among those already in operation.
Concerns about secrecy and reduced public oversight
Reporting shows that some developers have further limited transparency by using non-disclosure agreements with local governments, registering sites under shell-company names and relying on permitting pathways that allow redaction of public documents or avoid public hearings. In Ohio and elsewhere, legislation and administrative changes have also shortened timeframes for approvals.
Michael Cork, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University, said the trend of off-grid, natural-gas generation for AI demand "is emerging as one of the largest under-examined air-quality risks in the country." Natural gas combustion releases nitrogen oxides and fine particulate emissions that are linked to respiratory illness, and it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Transparency has been further reduced in Ohio by a recent legislative move that places certain large projects, including data centers, under confidentiality protections from public records laws. Under that measure, officials who release protected information could face criminal liability. The confidentiality provision was inserted into an unrelated college athletics bill and added by Republican state Senator Brian Chavez. Reuters’ review of election finance disclosures indicated the senator’s top two donors in 2025 included a construction union supporting data center development and utility NiSource, each of which gave $10,000.
Proponents of secrecy provisions argue they safeguard sensitive commercial information, while critics say the measures have the effect of undermining transparency and community input. "It undermines our fundamental concepts of democracy: transparency and accountability," said Bowling Green State University political scientist Andrew Kear.
Perrysburg resident and retired police officer Christine Coultrip said her neighbors had been approached about selling land for a potential data center but that local officials would not provide details. "I’m very disturbed that legislators can be charged if they talk about data center economics with their constituents," she said.
State policy and federal posture
Supporters of rapid approvals argue that such projects are critical to accelerate artificial-intelligence development and that off-grid plants allow major tech firms to secure large, dedicated power supplies without exerting upward pressure on consumer electricity prices. The Trump Administration, citing competition with China, has supported accelerated permitting for AI-sector infrastructure. At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several states, including Ohio, West Virginia, Texas and Utah, have proposed or implemented policies intended to speed approvals for data center-related infrastructure.
In response to questions about governance and permitting, the EPA told Reuters it is pursuing a deliberate, governance-driven strategy to help make the United States "the AI Capital of the World," while noting that state and local governments often have primary authority over permitting decisions.
The Data Center Coalition, which counts Meta, Amazon and Microsoft among member companies, said data center developers are "committed to being responsible neighbors" while securing critical power supplies for their operations.
Local promotion and development objectives
State and local officials often promote data-center development as an economic boon. In northwest Ohio, officials highlight available land, water access and proximity to natural gas infrastructure as reasons the region is attractive to hyperscale data center projects. Gary Thompson, executive vice president of the Regional Growth Partnership in northwest Ohio, said regional leaders hope to attract 10 hyperscale data centers. "These companies need certainty, and they need power," he said.
Some local residents urge caution as multiple projects cluster within regions. "One gas plant and one data center may be manageable, but four or more becomes a regional public health event," said Perrysburg resident Lauren Berlekamp, reflecting concerns about cumulative impacts on air quality and public health.
Developers, operators and compliance
The Apollo project is being developed by Will Power LLC, a unit of pipeline operator Williams Cos. Williams has said it is building four similar projects in Ohio designed to be constructed within 18 to 24 months and that the facilities will comply with state regulations. Williams spokesperson Kyle Tarpley noted that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing on the Apollo project in April.
Meta, which is financing the Apollo plant, stated that its partners must comply with air-quality regulations.
In other states, projects and permitting practices have also prompted questions. In Tennessee and Mississippi, Reuters reporting shows that Elon Musk’s xAI has operated gas turbines to power Colossus data centers that the company says are exempt from permitting requirements because they are temporary and not grid-connected.
In West Virginia, lawmakers passed legislation last year exempting certain data center microgrids from local zoning rules, narrowing routes for community opposition. That same year a large gas plant proposed in Tucker County received a state air permit, and public documents associated with that process contained redactions that officials defended as necessary to protect confidential information.
Community safety and emergency planning concerns
Township trustee Brian Rothenberg, near Columbus, said his community recently learned of plans for a gas fuel-cell power plant intended to serve an Amazon Web Services data center. If built, the plant would be the largest of its kind in the U.S. Rothenberg said local officials are seeking technical details to ensure a nearby elementary school would be safe if an emergency occurred, but that utility American Electric Power and state regulators have not provided the information requested. "My biggest concern is health and security," he said. "I don’t want my constituents to be lab rats if something goes wrong." AEP said it has provided emergency planning information to local fire departments and first responders.
Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency said it cannot discuss the project publicly while a legal challenge to its permit is pending.
Daycare operator Breanne Kidd summed up the anxieties of many neighbors: she worries that the safety of her family and the children in her care could be compromised. "For my family and my daycare families, their safety is my number one priority, and I feel like right now I can’t guarantee that," she said. "It’s all out of our hands."
Transparency actions and corporate responses
The use of nondisclosure agreements and confidentiality practices has drawn pushback. Microsoft said in March it would stop using nondisclosure agreements nationwide after criticism over projects in Wisconsin. Meta has said confidentiality agreements are a normal part of site selection and do not prevent partners from engaging with the public.
In the case of the Bowling Green project, many details were obscured for nearly two years under the working name "Project Accordion," filed through Liames LLC. Meta did not provide a comment explaining why that name was used for the project.
Scale, pace and questions going forward
At least 57 such off-grid facilities are proposed or under construction in the United States, and their combined capacity is substantial. Most are designed to run on natural gas and, as a result, will emit air pollutants linked to respiratory illness as well as greenhouse gases associated with climate change. These environmental and public health considerations have prompted advocates, researchers and community leaders to call for more scrutiny.
Developers and some policymakers argue the facilities are necessary to provide reliable, large-scale power to fuel an expanding AI industry without inducing price pressure on consumer electricity. Critics counter that the practices used to accelerate approvals and to limit public disclosure reduce communities' ability to weigh in and hold decision makers accountable.
What is clear from the reporting is that these projects are reshaping local landscapes and the regulatory terrain that governs electricity generation for large industrial users. As approvals continue to be expedited in several states and projects move from proposal to construction, the debate over transparency, public-health protections and the appropriate balance between economic development and community oversight is likely to intensify.