EdgeConneX has proposed a new gas-fired power plant in Licking County, Ohio, to serve a planned data center at the state's New Albany International Business Park.
According to the Newark Advocate, EdgeConneX has notified the Ohio Power Siting Board and local stakeholders that its affiliate, PowerConneX, is seeking state permits to construct the power plant on 48.6 acres northwest of Ohio 161 and Mink Street.
The 120MW gas-fired power plant will be the primary power source for the data center, serving its energy needs behind-the-meter.
According to the public notice, construction is anticipated to begin as early as Q4 2025, with commercial operations expected to start in Q1 2026 at the earliest.
PowerConneX New Albany Energy Center representatives will hold a public information meeting on the proposition from 6-8 pm on February 19 at the New Albany-Plain Local Schools Annex Building, 79 N. High St., in New Albany, Ohio. A second public information session is slated for March 19.
PowerConneX intends to file its application for a generating plant with the Ohio Power Siting Board within 90 days of the second public meeting. The Siting Board case number is 25-0090-EL-BGN, which can be found on the agency’s website.
If the agency approves the project, it will schedule a public hearing between 60 and 90 days later.
“The public information meeting will consist of a traditional in-person open-house poster board session to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to learn about the project and that we have an opportunity to engage with the community regarding our planned electric generation facility,” Matthew McDonnell, an attorney with Dickinson Wright law firm representing PowerConneX, wrote.
Data center operators are increasingly looking at natural gas as a crucial power source to expedite the development and energization of their data centers.
This has led several fossil fuel companies to announce plans to develop natural gas power plants to serve the data center market. Most notably, Chevron and ExxonMobil have both announced plans to develop natural gas plants to serve data centers behind the meter.
EdgeConnex signed several other significant deals in 2025. Last month, it announced its market entry in Japan, revealing plans for a 140MW data center in the Osaka-Kyoto area, which is slated for energization in 2027.
In addition, the company has indicated that it is set to invest €600 million in data centers in Heusenstamm, on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany. The data centers would be powered entirely by renewable energy, and a new power line would be built from Dietzenbach to Heusenstamm to accommodate the project.
